Sweetgreen Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 11,745 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the average volume of 6,336 call options.

Sweetgreen Trading Up 2.2 %

SG stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.89. 304,983 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,803,696. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.55. Sweetgreen has a 1-year low of $8.64 and a 1-year high of $40.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of -44.01 and a beta of 2.33.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $184.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 19.34% and a negative net margin of 14.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SG shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Sweetgreen from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sweetgreen

In related news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 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 $102,793.61. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 144,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,252,205.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total transaction of $102,793.61. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 144,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,205.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nathaniel Ru sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.74, for a total value of $265,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,952,129 shares in the company, valued at $56,104,187.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 428,334 shares of company stock worth $15,162,663. Insiders own 21.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sweetgreen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,350,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,361,000 after buying an additional 224,522 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the 1st quarter worth $1,175,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the 1st quarter valued at about $490,000. Finally, Yarra Square Partners LP acquired a new position in Sweetgreen during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,117,000. Hedge funds and other 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.