Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Upgraded at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SG. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sweetgreen from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sweetgreen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sweetgreen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.84.

Sweetgreen Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SG opened at $5.43 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.68 and a 200-day moving average of $6.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $642.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 1.89. Sweetgreen has a fifty-two week low of $4.49 and a fifty-two week high of $25.88.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.11). Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 32.26% and a negative net margin of 19.73%.The company had revenue of $155.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sweetgreen will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicolas Jammet purchased 4,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.71 per share, for a total transaction of $25,283.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 22,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,720.53. This represents a 24.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 19.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sweetgreen

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,593,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,558,000 after purchasing an additional 129,572 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625,000 shares during the period. Spyglass Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sweetgreen by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 4,056,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,371,000 after buying an additional 156,757 shares in the last quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP increased its position in Sweetgreen by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 3,946,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,496,000 after buying an additional 1,788,175 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Sweetgreen by 1,428.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,923,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,313,000 after buying an additional 3,667,306 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

About Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads, grain bowls and warm bowls that emphasize fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Since its founding in 2007 by Jonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen has focused on sustainable agriculture, working with regional farmers across the United States to provide seasonal produce and promote environmentally responsible sourcing practices. The company’s menu features a variety of plant-forward options, including custom-build salads, chef-curated bowls and limited-time offerings that reflect changing harvests.

Sweetgreen operates a technology-driven service model that combines in-store experiences with digital ordering through its mobile app and website.