UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Stock

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $37.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sweetgreen from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Sweetgreen from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Sweetgreen from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, August 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

SG stock traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.69. 11,646,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,871,673. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.59 and a 200-day moving average of $31.34. Sweetgreen has a 1 year low of $8.64 and a 1 year high of $42.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of -48.40 and a beta of 2.32.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $184.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 14.33% and a negative return on equity of 19.34%. The business’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 9,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total value of $335,201.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 379,181 shares in the company, valued at $13,881,816.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sweetgreen news, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 20,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $838,108.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,930,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,267,026.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 9,156 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total transaction of $335,201.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 379,181 shares in the company, valued at $13,881,816.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 466,022 shares of company stock worth $16,671,481 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 21.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the second quarter worth about $217,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.