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Groceries are HOT: Why $KR and $SFM Are Trending Right Now

By Jessie Moore, Stock Researcher and Writer
September 17, 2024 4:05 PM UTC
Groceries are HOT: Why $KR and $SFM Are Trending Right Now

Everyone’s eagerly awaiting potential rate cuts on Wednesday — here’s what’s on our radar RN. Reporters Dan Simms and Jessie Moore have compiled what's hot and what's not, PLUS 3 Strong Buy recommendations from top-rated analysts.

P.S. Speaking of stocks that could benefit from rate cuts, don’t miss our latest stock of the week — this one might surprise you

Hot or Not: Stock Market Edition 

🔥 HOT: Greenlane Holdings (NASDAQ: GNLN) saw its stock price jump by 32.8% on Monday after the company announced that it would be releasing new products for detecting fentanyl and xylazine in substances. Greenlane is also releasing a drink spike test that can detect banned substances in drinks, protecting bar patrons from spiked drinks. Shares of Greenlane are up 3.3% YTD after the news.

🥶 NOT: Security and public safety company Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) lost 23.6% on Monday after undergoing a 1/50 reverse split. The decision to reverse split is most likely an attempt by Knightscope to avoid NASDAQ compliance issues going forward. The company’s stock price has lost 74.4% this year and there’s no bottom in sight, as its daily volume is stable despite the increasingly low prices.

🔥 HOT: Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) rose by 4.4% on Monday after ISI Group analyst Michael Morris upgraded his price target for the company to $120 from $96. SFM has already had an excellent year, gaining 122.3% since January, but it might have more in the tank. A 4.4% gain might not sound that impressive, but SFM’s volatility is typically low. The stock has only gained more than 5% in a single day three times this year.

🥶 NOT: Satellite broadband company Telesat Corporation (NASDAQ: TSAT) lost 12.7% on Monday after gaining 10.33% on Friday thanks to a $2.54 billion dollar funding deal for its Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit broadband satellite system. Monday’s loss seems more like short-term profit-taking due to an initial overreaction to the news than a change in the fundamental outlook for the company, which is quite positive. 

📈 Want more? Check out the biggest winners and biggest losers on WSZ. 

Strong Buys: Top Picks from Top Wall Street Analysts 

Don’t settle for sub-par stock ratings. WallStreetZen's Top Analysts lets you see exactly who’s rating that ticker — right down to their win rate and average return. It’s a premium feature on our site, but we’ve unlocked a FREE sampling below: 

1- MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI

Analyst/Firm: Manav Patnaik / Barclays

Analyst ranking: Top 5% / average return +11.81% / win rate 63% 

Yesterday’s market close: $566.66

Price target: $700.00 

  • Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, Barclays's Manav Patnaik raised their price target on MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) by 7.7% from $650 to $700 on 9/13, following Barclays' Global Financial Services Conference on 9/9.
  • In light of forthcoming rate cuts and a strong and still "employed" customer base, companies have expressed "cautious optimism," the analyst told investors.
  • 5 analysts currently rate MSCI a Strong Buy. See what they’re saying here.

1-year chart for MSCI, courtesy TradingView

2- Artivion Inc. (NYSE: AORT)

Analyst/Firm: Rick Wise / Stifel Nicolaus

Analyst ranking: Top 7% / average return +10.31% / win rate 65% 

Yesterday’s market close: $25.38

Price target: $30.00 

  • Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, Stifel Nicolaus's Rick Wise raised their price target on Artivion (NYSE: AORT) by 7.1% from $28 to $30 on 9/13.
  • Wise told investors that the PERSEVERE U.S. pivotal trial using Artivion's AMDS (Ascyrus Medical Dissection Stent) aortic repair technology is almost at the 12-month follow-up completion date in November 2024.
  • If the study is successful, the analyst said it could unlock a total addressable market opportunity of around $150M in the U.S.
  • Footnotes: AMDS is a hybrid prosthesis designed to address the unique challenges of acute type A aortic dissection, specifically ATAD I, a classification of acute aortic dissection based on the extent of the dissection.
  • See more analyst forecasts on AORT here.

1-year chart for AORT, courtesy TradingView

3- Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR

Analyst/Firm: Ken Goldman / JP Morgan

Analyst ranking: Top 9% / average return +14.07% / win rate 75% 

Yesterday’s market close: $56.19

Price target: $59.00 

  • Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, JP Morgan's Ken Goldman raised their price target on Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) by 1.7% from $58 to $59 on 9/13.
  • In an assessment of Kroger Co's Q2 2024 earnings report, released on 9/12, Goldman highlighted that margins are being well managed in a soft consumer market, noting, however, that there is not much room for growth. 
  • The planned merger with Albertsons Companies takes precedence over near-term fundamentals, the analyst told investors.
  • See more Strong Buy ratings for KR here.

1-year chart for KR, courtesy TradingView

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