Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Given New $195.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at UBS Group from $132.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 36.06% from the company's previous close.

SFM has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $26.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,646,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,643. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $148.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.27.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at about $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,117,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,980,000 after buying an additional 435,767 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,946,000.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.