The stock price may show what investors think about the merger’s prospects. A Boise analyst says the price signals more than that.

A ruling in the Kroger-Albertsons merger case will hinge on how U.S. District Court Judge for Oregon Adrienne Nelson interprets a 1980s-era definition of the grocery industry in the 21st-century marketplace.

An attorney directed particular ire toward the New Hampshire-based company, C&S Wholesale Grocers, which would acquire 579 stores sold off by the grocer after they combined.