Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 276.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,290 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $19,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 76.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,423,000 after buying an additional 17,305 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,577,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $233,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $154.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.35. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.27 and a 12 month high of $155.64.

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

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total value of $104,625.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,513.60. This represents a 3.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,465,466. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.