Sweetgreen Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SG)

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 52,908 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 520% compared to the average volume of 8,533 call options.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SG opened at $11.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.28 and a beta of 2.11. Sweetgreen has a 1-year low of $4.49 and a 1-year high of $11.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.24.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.09). Sweetgreen had a net margin of 2.01% and a negative return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $192.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. Sweetgreen’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jamie McConnell sold 15,033 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total transaction of $93,354.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 210,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,307,136.69. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Jason Miles Cochran sold 4,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total value of $29,863.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 207,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,941.96. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 18.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sweetgreen by 175.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sweetgreen in the 3rd quarter worth about $480,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Sweetgreen by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter worth about $90,000. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sweetgreen from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Sweetgreen from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Sweetgreen from $6.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Sweetgreen from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $8.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.63.

About Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, Inc operates a fast-casual restaurant company focused on fresh, customizable meals. Its menu includes salads, grain bowls, protein plates, sides, and beverages made with seasonal produce and other ingredients. Customers can order in restaurants or through Sweetgreen’s website and mobile application, with options for pickup and delivery.

Founded in 2007 by Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen began as a single restaurant in Washington, DC The company has expanded its restaurant network across metropolitan areas in the United States, with locations concentrated in major markets on the East and West coasts and in other regions.