Whole Foods (WFM) Stock Higher, Macquarie Upgrades Rating

Whole Foods (WFM) stock rating was increased at Macquarie this morning as the firm believes the supermarket chain has a positive outlook for the next year.
By Natalie Walters ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Whole Foods Market (WFM) are up by 2.08% to $34.42 in mid-morning trading on Monday, as the company's stock rating was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" at Macquarie earlier today. 

The firm raised its price target on the stock to $38 from $28. 

The Austin-based supermarket chain should see positive results over the next year as a result of same-store sales improvement and effective management commentary around the company's new stores called "365 by Whole Foods," according to the analyst note. 

"Whole Foods remains a best-in-class operator with an iconic brand and a management team that has proven successful over long periods of time," Macquarie said. 

Other firms that have reiterated a positive outlook for Whole Foods in July include Oppenheimer, Credit Suisse, and Royal Bank of Canada

Whole Foods will report fiscal 2016 third quarter results after Wednesday's market close. 

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate WHOLE FOODS MARKET INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and deteriorating net income.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: WFM

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