Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Shares Down 6.6% on Insider Selling

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 6.6% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $30.51 and last traded at $31.59. Approximately 2,498,603 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 2,545,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.83.

Specifically, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $86,149.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 147,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,498. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $86,149.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 147,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,623,498. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 12,442 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.33, for a total transaction of $140,967.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,441,753.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 389,475 shares of company stock worth $10,569,370 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 21.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $17.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sweetgreen from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Sweetgreen from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average of $16.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.31 and a beta of 2.22.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $157.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.02 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 17.15% and a negative return on equity of 20.74%. The business's revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Sweetgreen by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,009,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,117,000 after buying an additional 2,907,749 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Sweetgreen by 1,435.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,674,791 shares of the company's stock worth $19,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565,700 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sweetgreen during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,105,000. Teca Partners LP bought a new position in Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,475,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,452,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.