Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $122.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.15.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $67.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.75. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12-month low of $64.75 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.95% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. 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 predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,471 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $1,488,529.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,965.60. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 3,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total transaction of $250,951.79. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 5,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $440,773.28. The trade was a 36.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,913,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,802,000 after buying an additional 28,951 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,115,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,174,000 after acquiring an additional 71,905 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,014 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,323,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,647,000 after purchasing an additional 653,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,314,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,086,000 after purchasing an additional 252,699 shares during the period.

Key Sprouts Farmers Market News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sprouts Farmers Market this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and sales growth — Sprouts reported $0.92 EPS vs. $0.89 consensus and revenue roughly in line, with revenue up ~7.6% YoY; e-commerce rose ~15%, showing continued channel mix tailwinds. This supports the company’s underlying sales momentum. Zacks: Sprouts Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Notable investor interest — reports that billionaire Philippe Laffont has been buying SFM shares may provide a vote of confidence from an institutional value-oriented investor. Yahoo Finance: Why Sprouts is Attractive
• Neutral Sentiment: Management changes announced — Sprouts appointed a new chief merchandising officer and a chief customer officer while a long-tenured merchandising executive will retire; this is a routine leadership refresh that could influence merchandising and customer strategy over time. Business Wire: Management Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference materials and call transcripts available — investors can review the company slide deck and earnings call transcript for detailed comps, margin cadence and category trends to refine near-term models. Quarter Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Softer guidance drove the downside — Sprouts cut Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance to $1.66–$1.70 (consensus ~$1.81) and FY2026 EPS to $5.28–$5.44 (consensus ~$5.68); revenue guidance ($9.2–$9.4B) also trails Street estimates. Management flagged a “soft start” to 2026 and margin pressure ahead, which is the clearest near‑term negative catalyst. Business Wire: Q4 Results & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimmed targets and tone — JPMorgan cut its price target to $77 and moved to Neutral, while Bank of America trimmed its target to $92 (maintaining Buy). Those reductions and the neutral shift from a major house amplify selling pressure after the light guidance. TickerReport/Benzinga: JPMorgan PT Cut Benzinga: Bank of America PT Trim

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.