Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI)

The backslide of this sector shoud be pretty rapid - In an economy as slow as this one it is very hard to cater to the same population that you once did.

Discretionary spending is still declining and let's face it organic foods are a choice not a necessity, and right now the necessities in our lives are winning out.

More and more grocers are adding major organic lines. Soon you will be able to buy organic milk, chicken, beef, and vegetables at regular stores that are lower cost and have bigger networks - where you can also purchase things like normal toothpaste that doesn't taste like dirt. Further, a lot of customers of whole foods are parents - good luck buying normal diapers at whole foods - a long term incentive to shop at other food retailers who have organic products.

Zacks Rank 3-Hold, Recommend Neutral, Industry Rank 146 / 217, Target 35.40, Avg Target of 21 analysts 25.08

all around good company in an expanding market, good long term pick.

I can easily spend $200 every time I go to Whole Foods. That's why I never go there.

As/when the economy bounces back, that'll mean more business for premium grocery shopping.

The produce is amazing. The stores are full with beautifully displayed merchandise. The staff is intelligent and likable. They have all the ingredients for success when we come out of the recession. What they stand for and promise is in sync.

I have been going to Whole Foods for a very long time, and their quality of produce is always exceptional. They made some bad moves regarding staff treatment, but I think that it is a lesson that their CEO will learn from and never do again. This is a good choice for the future.

This stock currently presents a prime example of investors overestimating the speed of recovery.

High P/E, challenging market, will come down before it goes up again.

Two words: John Mackey, their CEO. He built the company and has helmed it through out the company's existence. He has a good head and good ideas that will pan out well for Whole Foods.

Whole Foods has great economics. Each store generates ROIC in the neighborhood of 50%-100%, which is unheard of in the grocery business. Sales per square foot are about double the rest of the industry.

CEO John Mackey has built a great brand with loyal customers. I like betting on entrepreneurial visionaries in small to medium-sized businesses, so here's a green thumb for one of my favorite businesses.

Whole Foods sales are booming since the left-wing lunatics proposed a Stalinist hate-filled boycott against Whole Foods. Their sales have never been better.

CEO John Mackey pays employees better than union employees, provides better benefits.

Retail legend Leonard Green &Partners has invested $425 Million into Whole Foods, a great show of confidence from an experienced retail investor. Mackey announces the investment would be used to pay off debt and support sagging sales if needed.

John Mackey dissed the Public Option. So WFMI automatically gets an Outperform rating at any price or P/E multiple.

Of course if the idiotic Union Based Shareholders (Change to Win) which are obviously Welfare loving Obama supporters get their way then I'll have to switch my thumb to Red.

Mackey Stays!! Long Live John Mackey!!
Public Option must be off the table!

I live in Cali, and we have another name for this establishment-its called Whole Paycheck..yet it is always packed!?

This is way too over cooked, that multiple is ridiculous.

I shop there often and happen to agree with the majority of his points on health care as well as how his company provides their medical benefits to employees... however I think I'm in minority of his customers. Boycotts, ect. drag this stock in the near term.

Each time I think hard about buying this stock, John Mackey does something truly stupid. First it was talking about WFMI and his competitors in the third person and now it is an op-ed on healthcare. While I think that he makes a lot of good points, his job is to run a company and clearly this editorial was NOT in the best interests of his stockholders. He keeps self destructing.

Whole Foods has been performing well, up until its CEO referred to some of their products as "junk", and then let himself be used by Murdoch's WSJ for political purposes.

Normally, this wouldn't be such a big issue. In Whole Foods' case, however, it flies against the culture of its customers, many of whom have been complaining about Whole Foods' high prices and Walmart-like business practices for awhile now.

Mackey appears to be one of those CEOs who is fine when starting a company, but who shows himself to be tone deaf when dealing with consumers and investors. The margins of the business are too low to be alienating consumers like this. There are over 10,000 on Facebook alone who are urging a boycott, with picketing happening in several stores nationwide. This isn't going away anytime soon, and I think the shareholders are in for a bumpy ride over the next few months. Under the circumstances, replacing the CEO is probably the best option.