Whole Foods Slapped with Downgrades Following Weak Forecast

Shares of Whole Foods are plummeting in Wednesday trading after the grocer cut its 2014 same-store sales and earnings forecast, citing increasing competition. Following the results, a slew of downgrades hit the stock, from firms including Jefferies, Sterne Agee and Cantor Fitzgerald, which noted that the results mark the sixth out of seven straight quarters in which guidance or earnings have disappointed. Other firms were more optimistic about Whole Foods' long-term growth prospects.