🥗 Subtitle: The stock’s been tossed, shaken, and dressed down. Is it finally time to dig in?

🥬 The Setup: When Greens Turn Red

Back in May, Sweetgreen Director Clifford Burrows bought 19,200 shares at $13.11, spending about $250,000 on what seemed like a healthy choice. Fast-forward six months, and those greens are wilted — the stock now trades near $7.53, down roughly 50%.

For those who waited, it’s like getting a 50%-off coupon at checkout… except the salad may have gone soggy. 🥴

🏦 Institutional Salad Bar: A Buffet of Big Names

Here’s the good news — some of the world’s savviest investors still have an appetite for Sweetgreen:

• Baillie Gifford: 13M shares (up 11%) 🥇 [Total Shares Outstanding: 106 million]

• Vanguard: 9.4M shares 🏛️

• BlackRock: 7.5M shares ⚫

• Price T. Rowe: added over 6.4M shares 🍽️

• Fidelity (FMR), Wellington, Spyglass, Morgan Stanley — all seated at the table

That’s a 104% institutional ownership rate — yes, you read that right. Wall Street owns more Sweetgreen shares than Sweetgreen has. Either someone’s double-dipping, or the salad bar’s out of control. 🥗➡️📈

For Sweetgreen (SG)'s Institutional Ownership breakdown, 🔍 see here.

🧾 Then Came the Downgrade…

On October 6, Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral.
Translation: “Now that it’s cheaper, we’re less excited.”

Contrarian investors everywhere: 😏 “Perfect.”

📉 The Short Interest Diet

Short sellers currently hold about 23.65% of the float — meaning nearly one in four shares is betting on more downside. That’s a lot of people betting Sweetgreen’s kale smoothie will curdle before it recovers.

🧮 The Financial Ingredients (Q2 2025)

• Revenue: $185.6M (+0.5% YoY) — flat is the new up

• Same-store sales: (–7.6%) — oof, that’s not what “greens” should look like

• Loss from operations: $(26.4)M

• Restaurant-level profit margin: down to 18.9% from 22.5%

• Adjusted EBITDA: $6.4M (vs. $12.4M last year)

• Nine new restaurants opened — at least the doors still work

CEO Jonathan Neman blamed macro headwinds, loyalty program transitions, and “execution issues.” CFO Mitch Reback said they’re committed to “raising the bar.”

Investors hope he meant profit bar, not salad bar. 🥗💸

📊 The Long-Term Menu

Guidance for FY2025:

• 40 new restaurants, half with the “Infinite Kitchen” (AI salad assembly line 🤖🥬)

• Revenue: $700–$715M [Total revenue was $676.8 million in fiscal 2024.]

• Same-store sales: (–6%) to (–4%)

• Restaurant-level margin: 17.5%

• Adjusted EBITDA: $10–$15M

Not terrible, but surely not Michelin-star material either.

 👉 Want the full picture? Dive into Sweetgreen (SG)'s financials here.

💰 The Valuation Diet Plan

Sweetgreen’s market cap has slimmed down faster than a juice cleanse:

• Market Cap: $960M (was $4B+ a year ago)

• Price/Sales: 1.38 (down from 6.16 a year ago)

• Price/Book: 2.27 (down from 8.7)

Translation: Wall Street is giving the company salad dressing prices for champagne aspirations.

🌱 The Bull Case

• Aggressive expansion: opening 40+ stores a year

• “Infinite Kitchen” automation — cutting labor costs and making robots do the chopping 🦾

• Dinner & protein plates expanding beyond the lunch crowd

• Strong brand with Gen Z + urban pros

• Debt-to-equity < 1 — clean balance sheet

If management can fix margins, profits could blossom faster than microgreens under LED lights.

🌧️ The Bear Case

• Persistent losses (net loss margin: –12.5%)

• Premium pricing amid inflation — not everyone wants a $15 bowl of quinoa right now

• Competition galore: Cava, Chipotle, Just Salad, even Panera are coming for that kale crown

• Same-store sales down, loyalty up in the air

So yes — Sweetgreen’s problem isn’t branding or vibe. It’s turning that vibe into cash flow.

💡💡💡 Curious about another deep oil exploration play?
Check our takes on UnitedHealth Group or even Oscar Health.

🧠 Quick Take / TL;DR

Ticker: SG
Price: $7.53
52-Week Range: $6.71–$17.05
Short Interest: 23.65%
Institutional Ownership: 104% (salad déjà vu)
Verdict: Looks healthy, tastes risky.

If you believe in the “Infinite Kitchen” revolution, the stock could be a 2026 comeback story. Otherwise, consider taking your greens literally, not financially.

❓FAQ

Q: Should I buy Sweetgreen now that it’s down 50%?
A: Only if you’re okay waiting for the dressing to settle — the turnaround will take time.

Q: What about the insider buy at $13?
A: Even insiders can get tossed in the salad spinner sometimes. 🌀

Q: Could this become the next Chipotle?
A: Maybe… but only if they start printing money as fast as they make kale Caesar bowls.

🧾⚠️📢 Fun Disclaimer: 🧾⚠️📢

🧫 Disclosure: We love greens and veggies, but we also nosh on the occasional burger. 🍔🥗 Nothing here is financial advice—unless laughter compounds, in which case, you’re already profiting. 🥫😂

Always DYOR, hold the FOMO, and don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose. Also, keep your humor cells alive, and remember: even the best stock charts mutate.

We laugh, we analyze, we meme. We sell jokes and opinions — and yes, we’re billing your sense of humor. 🎪💸 
We’re not financial advisors. We’re FUNancial advisors. 

Invest at your own risk — even healthy stocks can cause heartburn. 💸💧 

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