Insider Buying: Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) CEO Acquires $700,100.20 in Stock

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) CEO Jason Potter bought 110,252 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.35 per share, for a total transaction of $700,100.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 684,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,347,324.30. The trade was a 19.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GO traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.54. The stock had a trading volume of 4,516,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,522,621. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $5.66 and a 52 week high of $19.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.77 and its 200 day moving average is $11.51. The stock has a market cap of $641.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.50.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Grocery Outlet’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 591.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.68.

Key Headlines Impacting Grocery Outlet

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying report lifts sentiment — Coverage says GO shares “gapped up” after insider purchases were reported, which can signal management confidence and attract momentum traders. This helps explain upward price movement despite weak technicals. Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears unreliable/zero — multiple short-interest posts report 0 shares (and NaN changes), producing a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0. That data looks erroneous and is unlikely to be a meaningful driver of today’s move. Monitor for corrected filings from exchanges.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class-action notices and lawsuits filed/announced — Several plaintiff firms and notices say a securities class action has been filed covering purchases from Aug 5, 2025 through Mar 4, 2026, alleging misrepresentations about unsustainable store expansion and concealing related consequences. These filings increase legal overhang, could raise potential liability/settlement risk, and tend to pressure share prices and deter institutional buyers. GO Investor Alert: Levi & Korsinsky
• Negative Sentiment: Additional law firms soliciting lead plaintiffs, deadline risk — Kessler Topaz, Pomerantz, Glancy, Faruqi, Bernstein Liebhard, The Gross Law Firm and others have issued client notices and deadline reminders (May 15, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline). The concentration of solicitations underscores the breadth of legal attention and could prolong volatility. Kessler Topaz class action notice

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.