Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Stock Price Up 8.6% After Insider Buying Activity

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s share price traded up 8.6% during trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $6.94 and last traded at $7.1050. 1,380,586 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 3,492,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.54.

Specifically, CEO Jason J. N. Potter bought 110,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.35 per share, for a total transaction of $700,100.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 684,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,347,324.30. This trade represents a 19.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason J. N. Potter purchased 286,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.90 per share, for a total transaction of $1,687,972.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,388,759.40. This represents a 99.25% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. DA Davidson set a $8.00 target price on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.68.

Key Stories Impacting Grocery Outlet

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Material insider purchases by CEO Jason Potter (110,252 shares at ~ $6.35 on Mar 23 and 2,556 shares at ~$6.68 on Mar 24) signal management confidence and likely drew short?term buying interest. SEC Form 4 — CEO Insider Purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Market media noted a gap up after the insider transactions, which likely amplified intraday volume and helped lift the share price. Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest reports in recent feeds appear inconsistent (numeric short interest shows 0 and NaN in some releases), so there’s no clear, reliable short?squeeze signal yet; monitor official exchange short?interest releases for confirmation.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have announced securities?fraud class actions or investor alerts alleging misstatements about the company’s expansion strategy and deteriorating metrics; solicitations for lead?plaintiff motions with a May 15, 2026 deadline create potential litigation risk, legal costs and management distraction. Representative notices: Pomerantz Investor Alert, Faruqi & Faruqi Shareholder Notice, SueWallSt — Alleged Concealment Lawsuit

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $699.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.71 and a 200 day moving average of $11.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 4.80% and a positive return on equity of 5.93%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,763,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,216,000 after buying an additional 5,528,722 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,255,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,685,000 after buying an additional 213,325 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,709,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,757,000 after acquiring an additional 22,418 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,619,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,149,000 after acquiring an additional 221,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,577,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,467,000 after acquiring an additional 20,819 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.