AlphaQuest LLC Has $515,000 Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 935 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unified Investment Management raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 7,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $148.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM opened at $106.80 on Wednesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.75 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%.The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.00, for a total transaction of $416,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,998,220. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO James H. Bahrenburg sold 4,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $588,261.52. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 9,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,256,429.02. This trade represents a 31.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,429 shares of company stock valued at $5,351,362. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

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.