Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Price Target Raised to $8.00

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $7.00 to $8.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

SG has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sweetgreen from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Sweetgreen from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Sweetgreen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Sweetgreen from $7.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.66.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

NYSE:SG opened at $10.07 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.58 and a 200-day moving average of $7.46. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 100.76 and a beta of 2.16. Sweetgreen has a one year low of $4.49 and a one year high of $10.77.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $192.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.50 million. Sweetgreen had a net margin of 2.01% and a negative return on equity of 32.94%. Sweetgreen’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, COO Jason Miles Cochran sold 4,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total value of $29,863.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 207,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,941.96. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jamie McConnell sold 15,033 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total transaction of $93,354.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 210,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,307,136.69. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 18.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,792,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,557,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Sweetgreen by 495.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 193,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 161,209 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 1st quarter worth $1,472,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 4th quarter worth $674,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, Inc operates a fast-casual restaurant chain focused on fresh, made-to-order meals. Its menu includes salads, warm grain bowls, protein plates, sides and beverages, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, customizable meals and health-conscious dining.

The company serves customers through company-operated restaurants in the United States, as well as digital channels that support online ordering, delivery, pickup and its loyalty program. Sweetgreen also uses technology in restaurant operations, including automated kitchen systems at select locations, to help improve consistency and service efficiency.

Sweetgreen was founded in 2007 by Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru while they were students at Georgetown University.