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

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 5.9% during mid-day 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.

SG has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sweetgreen from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sweetgreen from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Sweetgreen from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sweetgreen news, Director Nathaniel Ru sold 2,123 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $50,527.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,785,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,485,356.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Clifford Burrows bought 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.11 per share, with a total value of $251,712.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,712. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,014 shares of company stock valued at $736,283 in the last 90 days. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,693 shares of the company's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,161 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Sweetgreen in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 12,525 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.75% of the company's stock.

Sweetgreen Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.01 and a beta of 2.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.40.

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