Shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. spiked higher in midday trade Friday, after Bloomberg reported that a large shareholder was looking to push for sweeping changes at the grocer, including a possible sale of the company. The stock was down 1.5% at about $28.02 around 12:23 p.m. ET, then shot up to a gain of as much as 5.1% at an intraday high of $29.91, before pulling back. It was recently up 1.2%%, on volume that was already more than double the full-day average. The Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said one of the largest shareholders had met with potential activist investors to discuss the changes, that also included possible management changes, after losing patience with the company’s direction. Whole Foods has missed revenue expectations the last three quarters, and in seven of the last eight, while reporting same-store sales declines the past five quarters, according to FactSet. The stock has tumbled 14% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 4.5% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.
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