Though his candor was appreciated, it wasn’t enough to reverse the outrage sparked by the investigation’s findings. Its third-quarter profits were $154 million, or 43 cents per share. The company issued revenue guidance of +7% YoY to ~$3.483 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.59 billion. Now, the first batch of 365 by Whole Foods stores, including the one in Silver Lake, is expected to open by the first half of next year.
Advertisement
Whole Foods co-Chief Executives John Mackey and Walter Robb made a video apology on July 1, saying the mislabeling was an inadvertent error by employees and that it also led to some incorrectly low weights.
Chuck Grom, an analyst at Sterne Agee, was not happy with the results, either, downgrading the stock to neutral from buy and lowering his price target to $37 from $55. With the volume soaring to 2,909,560 shares, the last trade was called at $40.43.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. with TICKER NASDAQ:WFM had its stock rating noted as “Reitereated” with the recommendation being set at “OUTPERFORM” this morning by analysts at Oppenheimer.
Ohio now has seven Whole Foods stores, including locations in Woodmere, University Heights, Columbus, Upper Arlington, Mason, Cincinnati and Dayton. The steady downhill slide is making the analyst community question the management team of this organic food marketing pioneering on its growth road map.
The mislabeling fueled Whole Foods’ image of being an overpriced grocer-something it has been trying to combat in recent years amid slowing sales growth. The consensus analyst estimates as said by First Call for the next quarter is 0.00.
Whole Foods Market (NYSE:WFM) traded down 11.306% on Monday, hitting $36.205. But that’s not the story for all stocks, Whole Foods Market (WFM) in particular.
Whole Foods Market is still smarting over a report last month that it overcharges consumers – and shoppers responded by voting with their wallets.
“My concern is: How much does it cannibalize your core Whole Foods Market?” he said.
Robb said that same-store sales, which is one of the most important measures of a retailer’s health, fell during the week that New York City accused Whole Foods of price gouging. However, analysts are concerned whether the new store model will prove to be a game changer and help Whole Foods to retain market share amid stiff competition without cannibalizing its own business.
SolarCity Corporation (SCTY) shares are down $0.10 to $57.95 in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported its second quarter earnings results.
Advertisement
Whole Foods stated that comps rose 1.3% on a constant currency basis in the reported quarter, following an increase of 3.6% in the preceding quarter. To emphasize the affordability, the chain will be named after the company’s 365 house brands.
