Optas LLC Invests $388,000 in Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)

Optas LLC acquired a new position in Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sweetgreen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,350,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,361,000 after acquiring an additional 224,522 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,729,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,549,000 after buying an additional 476,998 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Sweetgreen by 1,435.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,674,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,679,000 after buying an additional 1,565,700 shares during the last quarter. Teca Partners LP bought a new position in Sweetgreen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,475,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Sweetgreen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,452,000. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Sweetgreen Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE SG traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,693,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,368,785. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.18. Sweetgreen, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.64 and a 12-month high of $36.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.41 and a beta of 2.34.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 20.74% and a negative net margin of 17.15%. The business had revenue of $157.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SG has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Sweetgreen in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Sweetgreen from $17.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Sweetgreen from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.67.

Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen

In other Sweetgreen news, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 3,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $121,920.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,934,989.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sweetgreen news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $86,149.80. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 147,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,498. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Adrienne Gemperle sold 3,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $121,920.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 125,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,934,989.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 440,692 shares of company stock worth $13,738,038. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.