<p>Harris Teeter has experienced a rise in its stock price since it confirmed it was exploring a possible sale. Speculation has driven the supermarket's <b>stock price up nearly 18 percent since February 13th</b> as Harris Teeter revealed it had retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as a financial adviser to assist the company as it considered strategic alternatives. As of Friday, the Matthews-based grocery chain (NYSE:HTSI) was selling for $47.90 a share at mid-day, up from $40.72 on Feb 13th. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, <b>Harris Teeter’s market value was $2.37 billion on Friday, up from $1.8 billion in February</b> and apparently that value is continuing to rise as the shares were selling at $48.40 as of 10:30 am PST, Monday. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Share prices have wavered between 3 percent to 5 percent higher since The Wall Street Journal reported, at the end of June, that Cerberus Capital Management made a bid on the supermarket. Details of the deal are still relatively unknown.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“You’ve got to have a willing buyer and seller. Sometimes share prices are based on pure speculation,” says Chuck Cerankosky, Managing Director at Cleveland-based Northcoast Research, who was quoted in the publication. Cerankosky is an equity-research analyst who covers the food-marketing sector. The current share price could reflect the expectation of an offer, Cerankosky believes. “That’s part of (J.P. Morgan’s) responsibility, to find the serious buyers and encourage discussions with well-financed potential acquirers, buyers or investors.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for updates on the potential Harris Teeter sale.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/07/05/harris-teeters-rising-stock-price.html?page=all" target="_new"> Harris Teeter Sale </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
