Sainsbury share price is set to end the week higher as Bestway Group agrees to buy a 3.45% stake in the UK supermarket chain. At the time of writing, the SBRY stock was trading 4.05% higher at 249p. The stock has been under intense pressure for the past few days despite a jump in its Christmas retail sales.

Optimism Abound

Sainsbury share price was among the best performers in the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 100 index on Friday. Among other top performers in the index were BP, Burberry Group, and Intermediate Capital.

Bestway Group agreed to buy a 3.45% stake in UK supermarket J Sainsbury. Bestway is the owner of the Costcutter chain and is one of the largest grocery wholesalers in the United Kingdom. The privately owned company also owns the third-largest pharmacy chain in the UK under the Costcutter and Best-one brands.

In its announcement earlier on Friday, Bestway said it has agreed to buy more than 80 million shares of the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain or 3.45% of its capital. The stake is worth almost £200 million. Bestway has said it could seek to increase its stake further in the future.

Earlier this month, the UK retailer posted a 7.1% increase in its grocery sales over the Christmas period. Sainsbury said that it expects its full-year profit to be at the top end of the company’s forecast.

Sainsbury Share Price Forecast

The daily chart shows that the Sainsbury share price has been under intense pressure for the past few days ahead of its full-year guidance for 2022. The stock has managed to remain above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages, while its Relative Strength Index (RSI) has continued ticking higher.

Therefore, a move past the resistance at 251p will initiate a bullish breakout for the SBRY stock price. On the other hand, a move below the important support level at 227p will invalidate the bullish thesis.