Sweetgreen Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 95,595 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 727% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,558 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Sweetgreen from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sweetgreen from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Sweetgreen from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Sweetgreen from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sweetgreen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.04.

Sweetgreen Stock Down 2.8%

Sweetgreen stock opened at $8.82 on Tuesday. Sweetgreen has a 52 week low of $4.49 and a 52 week high of $16.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.51 and a beta of 2.15.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.04). Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 33.07% and a net margin of 2.49%.The business had revenue of $161.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Sweetgreen’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen will post -0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc bought 594,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.69 per share, for a total transaction of $3,383,006.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 11,900,255 shares in the company, valued at $67,712,450.95. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 18.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Sweetgreen by 165.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Sweetgreen during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in Sweetgreen by 124.1% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 6,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,484 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Sweetgreen by 212.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Sweetgreen by 281.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 5,839 shares in the last quarter. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

Sweetgreen, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads, grain bowls and warm bowls that emphasize fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Since its founding in 2007 by Jonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen has focused on sustainable agriculture, working with regional farmers across the United States to provide seasonal produce and promote environmentally responsible sourcing practices. The company’s menu features a variety of plant-forward options, including custom-build salads, chef-curated bowls and limited-time offerings that reflect changing harvests.

Sweetgreen operates a technology-driven service model that combines in-store experiences with digital ordering through its mobile app and website.