Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 17,406 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 197% compared to the average volume of 5,864 call options.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

Sweetgreen stock opened at $15.33 on Friday. Sweetgreen has a fifty-two week low of $14.61 and a fifty-two week high of $45.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.45. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 2.31.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.68 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 13.27% and a negative return on equity of 18.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SG shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Sweetgreen from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities 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, Sweetgreen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.18.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, COO Rossann Williams sold 4,977 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $118,452.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 95,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,280.80. The trade was a 4.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 5,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total transaction of $136,064.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,810,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,084,259.40. This trade represents a 0.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,852 shares of company stock valued at $871,417. Corporate insiders own 21.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sweetgreen

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SG. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Sweetgreen by 3,571.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 156.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Sweetgreen by 47.1% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.