Sweetgreen Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 17,406 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 197% compared to the average daily volume of 5,864 call options.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

SG opened at $15.33 on Friday. Sweetgreen has a 1 year low of $14.61 and a 1 year high of $45.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 2.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.50.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21). Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 13.27% and a negative return on equity of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In related news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 10,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.43, for a total transaction of $288,774.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 344,055 shares in the company, valued at $9,093,373.65. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nathaniel Ru sold 2,123 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $50,527.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,785,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,485,356.20. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,852 shares of company stock worth $871,417 over the last three months. 21.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 3,571.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Sweetgreen by 156.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Sweetgreen from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sweetgreen from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Sweetgreen from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.18.

About Sweetgreen

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.