Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Stock Price Down 5.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) dropped 5.9% during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $15.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Sweetgreen traded as low as $13.90 and last traded at $13.93. Approximately 1,970,277 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 3,574,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.80.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sweetgreen from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sweetgreen from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sweetgreen presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.08.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, Director Nathaniel Ru sold 2,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total transaction of $50,527.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,785,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,485,356.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Clifford Burrows purchased 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.11 per share, for a total transaction of $251,712.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,712. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,014 shares of company stock valued at $736,283. 21.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SG. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Sweetgreen by 4.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 144,722 shares of the company's stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 75,756 shares of the company's stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 20,885 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the first quarter worth $374,000. Rip Road Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the first quarter worth about $2,077,000. Finally, Sandler Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,243,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -18.01 and a beta of 2.06. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.16.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.21). The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.68 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 13.27% and a negative return on equity of 18.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

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.