Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 3,646,900 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 3,233,813 shares.The stock last traded at $24.99 and had previously closed at $23.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp started coverage on Sweetgreen in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Sweetgreen from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $45.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.27.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -29.78 and a beta of 2.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.25.

Insider Activity at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 72,000 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.77, for a total value of $2,719,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,140.77. The trade was a 62.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 41,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.61, for a total transaction of $1,614,091.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,930,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,526,103.08. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 516,817 shares of company stock worth $19,677,637. 21.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in Sweetgreen in the 3rd quarter worth about $591,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 189.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 173,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,151,000 after purchasing an additional 113,586 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sweetgreen by 139.9% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 939,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,299,000 after acquiring an additional 547,816 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 53,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 23,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sweetgreen by 670.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 143,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,085,000 after buying an additional 124,813 shares during the last quarter. 95.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.