Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Shares Down 5.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)’s stock price traded down 5.6% during trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer lowered their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $41.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Sweetgreen traded as low as $32.45 and last traded at $32.98. 703,069 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 1,884,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.94.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Sweetgreen in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.40.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In other news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 5,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $182,916.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 107,313 shares in the company, valued at $3,654,007.65. This represents a 4.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 4,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total transaction of $148,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 140,302 shares in the company, valued at $4,777,283.10. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 640,838 shares of company stock worth $24,800,733. 21.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Sweetgreen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 29.1% during the third 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. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 3rd quarter worth about $155,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $177,000. 95.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.72 and a beta of 2.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.61.

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.