Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Up 6.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) shares were up 6.7% during trading on Monday after Evercore upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $71.45 and last traded at $72.0280. Approximately 1,208,326 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 2,998,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.48.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $104.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.15.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $1,488,529.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,965.60. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 3,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total transaction of $250,951.79. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 5,552 shares in the company, valued at $440,773.28. The trade was a 36.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,398,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,014 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 652.7% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,411,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,753 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $81,557,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 185.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,300,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,526,000 after buying an additional 844,717 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.95% and a return on equity of 38.21%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.280-5.440 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.660-1.700 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts’ product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.