Sweetgreen Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SG)

Key Points

• Sweetgreen experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 25,512 call options purchased, representing a 78% rise from the typical volume.
• Recent analyst reports show a mixed outlook, with William Blair reaffirming an "outperform" rating, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America lowered their price targets to $17.00 and $9.50, respectively.
• The company reported earnings of ($0.20) per share, missing expectations and revealing a year-over-year revenue increase of only 0.5% to $185.58 million.

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 25,512 call options on the company. This is an increase of 78% compared to the typical volume of 14,371 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SG. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sweetgreen from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $9.50 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.73.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

NYSE SG traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,827,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,943,801. The company has a market capitalization of $954.56 million, a PE ratio of -9.57 and a beta of 1.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $9.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.01. Sweetgreen has a 12 month low of $7.66 and a 12 month high of $45.12.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.08). Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 22.21% and a negative net margin of 14.29%.The company had revenue of $185.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sweetgreen has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sweetgreen news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 11,530 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total transaction of $105,960.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 322,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,967,368.29. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 19.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sweetgreen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SG. Greenhouse Funds LLLP bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,122,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,762,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,094 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 1st quarter valued at $31,558,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,567,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212,708 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 891.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,157,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company's stock.

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.

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