Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Shares Up 9.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) rose 9.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.64 and last traded at $14.89. Approximately 724,966 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,355,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Sweetgreen Trading Up 9.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.19 and a beta of 2.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.16.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.21). The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.68 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 19.72% and a negative net margin of 13.04%. Sweetgreen’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, Director Clifford Burrows bought 19,200 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.11 per share, with a total value of $251,712.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,712. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 10,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.23, for a total transaction of $153,640.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 334,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,093,231.83. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SG. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Sweetgreen by 3,571.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 156.0% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Sweetgreen by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Sweetgreen by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.