Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $28.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 1,607,307 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the previous session's volume of 2,446,094 shares.The stock last traded at $32.80 and had previously closed at $31.56.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $17.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Sweetgreen from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total value of $57,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,255,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total transaction of $57,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,255,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 29,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total value of $619,269.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 405,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,521,319.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,933. Company insiders own 21.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SG. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Sweetgreen by 12.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,262 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sweetgreen Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of -34.80 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.65 and a 200 day moving average of $14.95.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 20.45% and a negative net margin of 17.15%. The company had revenue of $157.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $152.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.29) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.