United Natural Foods (UNFI) saw its stock price plummet 7.28% in Thursday's trading session, as a wave of analyst downgrades and price target cuts overshadowed the company's better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. The sharp decline comes as Wall Street expresses growing concerns about the company's near-term prospects.

Despite reporting quarterly sales of $8.06 billion, up 7.5% year-on-year and beating analyst estimates, UNFI faced a series of negative analyst actions. Northcoast Research downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral, while several other firms, including BMO Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank, significantly lowered their price targets. BMO Capital cut its target from $32 to $25, and Deutsche Bank reduced its target from $33 to $24, maintaining a Hold rating.

The selloff intensified as more analysts weighed in, with UBS and Goldman Sachs also maintaining cautious stances. Investors appeared to focus on these bearish signals rather than the company's positive earnings surprise, where adjusted EPS of 44 cents beat the consensus estimate of 21 cents. Additionally, UNFI announced the termination of a major supply agreement as part of a strategic pruning to enhance profitability, which may have contributed to the market's uncertainty. As the stock continues to face pressure, investors will be closely monitoring any further guidance from the company and potential revisions to analyst outlooks.