Marshall Wace LLP Trims Position in Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its stake in Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) by 23.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112,517 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Sweetgreen were worth $11,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 2nd quarter valued at $233,000. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in Sweetgreen during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SG. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sweetgreen from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

Sweetgreen stock opened at $35.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.66 and a beta of 2.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.46. Sweetgreen, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.64 and a fifty-two week high of $38.53.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $184.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 14.33% and a negative return on equity of 19.34%. Sweetgreen’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In related news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total value of $102,793.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 144,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,252,205.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sweetgreen news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total transaction of $102,793.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 144,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,252,205.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 9,156 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total value of $335,201.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 379,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,881,816.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 426,061 shares of company stock worth $15,071,720. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.