Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Cut to Sell at Melius Research

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was downgraded by investment analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $70.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research’s price target points to a potential downside of 9.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $111.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.31.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $77.54 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $64.75 and a 52-week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.97, for a total transaction of $26,282.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 23,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,959,188.04. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.97, for a total transaction of $44,504.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 78,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,604,828.29. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,750 shares of company stock worth $10,566,838. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.6% in the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Balefire LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.2% in the third quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.9% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 963 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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.