Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 1,920 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $13,348,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock worth $11,616,851. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $142.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.61 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $150.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.02.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.