Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Trading Down 6.9% – Should You Sell?

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) shares dropped 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $31.20 and last traded at $30.77. Approximately 354,685 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,455,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Sweetgreen in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sweetgreen from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup raised Sweetgreen from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $49.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, November 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.20.

Sweetgreen Stock Down 7.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.08 and a beta of 2.37.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $173.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.67 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 18.82% and a negative net margin of 13.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, insider Nicolas Jammet sold 170,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.73, for a total transaction of $6,421,608.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,760,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,406,082.82. This trade represents a 8.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 5,372 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $182,916.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,007.65. The trade was a 4.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 608,877 shares of company stock worth $23,466,012. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SG. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 139.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 939,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,299,000 after acquiring an additional 547,816 shares in the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at $13,695,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 13.3% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,313,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,032,000 after purchasing an additional 272,340 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 848.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 270,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,576,000 after purchasing an additional 241,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 7.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,407,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,784,000 after purchasing an additional 236,874 shares in the last quarter. 95.75% of the stock is owned by 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.