The stock price of Whole Foods Market gained more than 4 percent Thursday, as rumors swirled that the Austin, Texas-based grocer could be bought by Publix Super Markets.
“It is a rumor, and we don’t comment on rumors,” Brian West, media and community relations manager for Publix, said in an email to Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Whole Foods’ options volume also surged, Reuters reported, citing the options analytics firm Trade Alert.
Benzinga also had a headline that referred to chatter about a potential bid from Publix for Whole Foods.
Publix, based in Lakeland and with $28.9 billion in sales in 2013, had 1,077 supermarkets as of March 29, and $7.04 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said. Publix is the largest company headquartered in the Tampa Bay area.
Whole Foods had 374 stores as of April 13, according to its most recent quarterly filing with the SEC. The company posted $12.9 billion in sales for the year ended Sept. 29.
Los Angeles research firm Imperial Capital initiated coverage of Whole Foods (NYSE: WFM) on Thursday, and that moved the stock price higher, the Austin Business Journal reported. Read that report here.