Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Shares Up 6.3% – Here’s What Happened

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)’s stock price shot up 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $33.52 and last traded at $33.78. 980,985 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 2,584,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Sweetgreen from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sweetgreen from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Sweetgreen from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.20.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.14 and a beta of 2.38.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $173.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.67 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 13.27% and a negative return on equity of 18.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In related news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 5,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $182,916.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,007.65. The trade was a 4.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 20,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $838,108.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,930,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,267,026.84. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 646,565 shares of company stock worth $24,974,830. 21.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Csenge Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the fourth quarter worth about $426,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 138,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in Sweetgreen by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 12,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

Sweetgreen, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates fast food restaurants serving healthy foods at scale in the United States. The company also accepts orders through its online and mobile ordering platforms, as well as sells gift cards that do not have an expiration date and can be redeemed. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.