Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,250,000 shares, a decrease of 26.7% from the October 15th total of 9,890,000 shares. Currently, 7.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of SFM traded down $3.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $141.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,689,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,990. The firm has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.83. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $40.39 and a 1-year high of $148.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,651,373.76. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock valued at $5,902,586 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter.

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.