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

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 40,925 call options on the company. This is an increase of 468% compared to the typical volume of 7,199 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicolas Jammet purchased 4,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.71 per share, for a total transaction of $25,283.88. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 22,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,720.53. This represents a 24.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 19.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SG. RPG Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Sweetgreen by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 616,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 153,525 shares during the last quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP bought a new stake in Sweetgreen in the second quarter worth about $32,122,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 75.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 531,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 228,961 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,527,000. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,037,000. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $7.00 target price on Sweetgreen in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $5.00 to $5.60 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sweetgreen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.84.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

Shares of Sweetgreen stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $5.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,972,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,291,327. The firm has a market cap of $639.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.74 and a beta of 1.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.65. Sweetgreen has a 1 year low of $4.49 and a 1 year high of $24.47.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $155.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.59 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 19.73% and a negative return on equity of 32.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

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.