Goldman Sachs Group Inc Purchases 594,553 Shares of Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Stock

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc acquired 594,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $3,383,006.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,900,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,712,450.95. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Sweetgreen Trading Up 9.5%

Sweetgreen stock opened at $6.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $727.27 million, a P/E ratio of -5.39 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.52. Sweetgreen, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.49 and a 12-month high of $21.92.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $155.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.59 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 19.73% and a negative return on equity of 32.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 129,572 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 152.6% during the fourth quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625,000 shares during the period. Spyglass Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 4.0% during the third quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 4,056,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,371,000 after acquiring an additional 156,757 shares during the period. Greenhouse Funds LLLP increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 82.8% during the third quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 3,946,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,175 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 1,428.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,923,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,313,000 after acquiring an additional 3,667,306 shares during the period. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.84.

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.