Sweetgreen Receives Hold Rating from 16 Analysts; Insiders Buy 197,915 Shares
Sweetgreen has received a consensus “Hold” rating from 16 brokerages, with two sell, eleven hold and three buy recommendations and an average one-year target price of $11.43. Co-founder Nicolas Jammet and CEO Jonathan Neman acquired 18,115 shares at $5.51 and 179,800 shares at $5.56 respectively, representing insider ownership of 19.78%.
1. Consensus Rating Reflects Cautious Outlook
Sweetgreen has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from sixteen brokerages. Two analysts recommend selling, eleven maintain a hold stance and three advise buying. The average one-year target among firms updating coverage in the past twelve months stands at 11.43 dollars. Recent updates include Zacks Research’s upgrade from “Strong Sell” to “Hold,” Weiss Ratings’ reaffirmation of a “Sell (E+)” rating, Morgan Stanley’s assignment of an 10-dollar target, UBS Group’s cut from “Buy” to “Neutral” with a 7.50-dollar objective, and Oppenheimer’s 10-dollar target price.
2. Insider Purchases Signal Confidence
Co-founders Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman significantly increased their stakes in early November. Jammet acquired 18,115 shares at an average cost of 5.51 dollars per share, totaling about 99,800 dollars. CEO Jonathan Neman added 179,800 shares at roughly 5.56 dollars each, for just under one million dollars. Following these transactions, insiders collectively own 19.78% of the company’s outstanding shares.
3. Q3 Results Highlight Profitability Challenges
In its latest quarterly report, Sweetgreen posted revenue of 172.39 million dollars, missing analysts’ consensus of 179.29 million by approximately 6.9 million. The company reported a loss per share of 0.31 dollars versus an expected loss of 0.18 dollars. A negative net margin of 16.55% underlines ongoing profitability headwinds, and revenue declined 0.6% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts forecast a full-year EPS of negative 0.74 dollars.
4. Institutional Investors Adjust Positions
Several institutions adjusted their Sweetgreen holdings during the second and third quarters. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors initiated a new position valued at about 30,000 dollars. Nisa Investment Advisors increased its stake by 98.2% to 2,129 shares, valued at roughly 32,000 dollars. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken grew its holding by 312.3% to 2,808 shares (approximately 42,000 dollars). In the third quarter, Larson Financial Group raised its stake by 165.8% to 3,766 shares (30,000 dollars), and Bogart Wealth expanded by 1,150% to 5,000 shares (40,000 dollars). Institutional and hedge fund ownership accounts for 95.75% of shares outstanding.