Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.43 and last traded at $40.26, with a volume of 78050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.30 and a beta of 2.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.05.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $184.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 19.34% and a negative net margin of 14.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 3,868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total value of $140,447.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,169,913.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sweetgreen news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 3,868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total transaction of $140,447.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,169,913.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 169,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total value of $6,072,744.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,930,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,044,255.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 428,334 shares of company stock valued at $15,162,663. Company insiders own 21.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SG. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 231.8% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,688,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878,216 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the first quarter valued at about $29,105,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the second quarter worth about $33,449,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the second quarter worth about $29,109,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 6.2% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,326,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,516,000 after acquiring an additional 721,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

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.