Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) Shares Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) traded down 5.6% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $39.43 and last traded at $39.68. 516,882 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,849,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.04.

Specifically, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 33,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,343,111.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,930,228 shares in the company, valued at $77,517,956.48. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicolas Jammet sold 33,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $1,348,623.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,930,233 shares in the company, valued at $77,479,552.62. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CEO Jonathan Neman sold 41,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.61, for a total value of $1,614,091.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SG has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Sweetgreen from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sweetgreen from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

Sweetgreen Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.29. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.92 and a beta of 2.32.

Institutional Trading of Sweetgreen

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sweetgreen by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,688,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,878,216 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sweetgreen in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,449,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sweetgreen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,109,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in Sweetgreen by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,326,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,516,000 after acquiring an additional 721,740 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Sweetgreen by 139.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 939,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,299,000 after acquiring an additional 547,816 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Sweetgreen Company Profile

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.