Sweetgreen Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 95,595 call options on the company. This is an increase of 727% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,558 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sweetgreen from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sweetgreen from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sweetgreen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a “mkt underperform” rating and a $4.50 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.04.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

Shares of SG stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.82. 4,647,550 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,811,857. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.51 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.71. Sweetgreen has a 52-week low of $4.49 and a 52-week high of $16.70.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.04). Sweetgreen had a net margin of 2.49% and a negative return on equity of 33.07%. The firm had revenue of $161.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sweetgreen news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc bought 594,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $3,383,006.57. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 11,900,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,712,450.95. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 18.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 165.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 302,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 124.1% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 6,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

Sweetgreen, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads, grain bowls and warm bowls that emphasize fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Since its founding in 2007 by Jonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen has focused on sustainable agriculture, working with regional farmers across the United States to provide seasonal produce and promote environmentally responsible sourcing practices. The company’s menu features a variety of plant-forward options, including custom-build salads, chef-curated bowls and limited-time offerings that reflect changing harvests.

Sweetgreen operates a technology-driven service model that combines in-store experiences with digital ordering through its mobile app and website.