What Happened?
Shares of casual salad chain Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) fell 5.8% in the morning session after the departure of its Chief Development Officer, Chris Tarrant, and a price target cut from Morgan Stanley highlighted ongoing business struggles.
The executive's exit marked the second leadership change in a month, following the recent retirement of co-founder Nathaniel Ru. These shifts occurred as the salad chain faced weaker trading, with same-store sales having declined for three consecutive quarters in 2025. In response to the challenges, Sweetgreen scaled back its growth plans, now aiming to open between 15 and 20 new locations, down from a previous projection of 37. Adding to the pressure, Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on the stock to $9.00 from $10.00.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Sweetgreen’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 53 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 27 days ago when the stock gained 4.2% on the news that the company announced its expansion into the Sacramento market with the launch of two new locations.
This move marked the company's first entry into the area and built upon its ongoing expansion across the country. The news signaled continued growth for the restaurant chain. Adding to the positive sentiment, RBC Capital analyst Logan Reich reiterated a "Buy" rating on the stock with an $8 price target, reinforcing a favorable outlook on the company's prospects.
Sweetgreen is up 8.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $7.50 per share, it is still trading 77.7% below its 52-week high of $33.71 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sweetgreen’s shares at the IPO in November 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $151.62.
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