Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.43 and last traded at $40.26, with a volume of 78050 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SG shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.30.

Sweetgreen Trading Down 16.0 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.51 and a beta of 2.32.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $184.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 19.34% and a negative net margin of 14.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, insider Nicolas Jammet sold 16,751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $670,710.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,930,233 shares in the company, valued at $77,286,529.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 3,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 114,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,169,913.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicolas Jammet sold 16,751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $670,710.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,930,233 shares in the company, valued at $77,286,529.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 466,022 shares of company stock worth $16,671,481 over the last three months. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Sweetgreen by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.