Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parik notes Bloomberg reported that Albertsons and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) held preliminary merger talks with proposed plans to take the latter private. To the extent Sprouts Farmers Market is in play, the analyst would expect Kroger (KR) and Whole Foods (WFM) to also be interested. Further, Parik suspects a high $20-low $30 range would be a minimum to get a deal done, as industry valuations currently are depressed due in part to deflationary pressures. He reiterates a Perform rating on Sprouts Farmers Market's shares.

VP of Kroger, Mary Ellen Adcock, disclosed the sale of 82,806 shares of company stock at $55.61 per share on April 23, for a total transaction amount of $4,605,189.