Granahan Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)

Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) by 184.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,022,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 663,347 shares during the period. Sweetgreen comprises approximately 1.4% of Granahan Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.88% of Sweetgreen worth $32,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SG. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Sweetgreen by 1,399.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 111,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 103,664 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 223.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 18,733 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 170,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after acquiring an additional 26,731 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Sweetgreen during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,182,000. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sweetgreen by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 11,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Sweetgreen from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Sweetgreen from $45.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sweetgreen from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Sweetgreen in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.18.

Sweetgreen Stock Down 15.6 %

SG opened at $15.33 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.50. Sweetgreen, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.61 and a 52 week high of $45.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 2.31.

Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.68 million. Sweetgreen had a negative return on equity of 18.82% and a negative net margin of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen, Inc. will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mitch Reback sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.07, for a total transaction of $84,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 344,509 shares in the company, valued at $7,258,804.63. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Nathaniel Ru sold 2,123 shares of Sweetgreen stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $50,527.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,785,099 shares in the company, valued at $42,485,356.20. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,852 shares of company stock valued at $871,417. 21.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.