Why Is SG Stock Soaring Today?

• The report added that the FDA is working to determine whether the contaminated supplies of shredded iceberg lettuce were distributed elsewhere.
• Taco Bell said it has voluntarily removed the potentially impacted lettuce from its supply chain and is replacing the ingredient.
• Late Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration confirmed the outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce.

Sweetgreen Inc. (SG) shares soared more than 20% in Friday morning’s trade after a report said federal investigators identified another firm as the supplier of shredded iceberg lettuce linked to a multistate Cyclospora outbreak, easing investor concerns that had weighed heavily on the salad chain's stock.

According to The Washington Post report citing two people familiar with the investigation, federal traceback investigators identified Taylor Farms as the supplier of shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

SG was among the top trending tickers on the platform at the time of writing.

FDA Determining If Affected Supplies Went To Other Places, Says Report

The report added that the FDA is working to determine whether the potentially affected shredded iceberg lettuce was distributed elsewhere. Taco Bell said it has voluntarily removed the potentially impacted lettuce from its supply chain and is replacing the ingredient.

“The signal we have gotten is that there is a very high percentage of people who got sick at Taco Bell, and when investigators asked what their menu items were in common, lettuce came up frequently,” one of the people said, according to the report.

However, Health and Human Services Department spokesperson Emily Hilliard told the publication that the investigation remains active and that additional states, restaurants, retailers, or products could be identified as more information becomes available.

What The CDC Said

Late Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration confirmed the outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in those five states.

The CDC added that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had identified a single supplier from Mexico, though the agencies did not publicly name the supplier.

“CDC is also investigating other outbreaks and illnesses of cyclosporiasis nationally that are unrelated to this outbreak,” the agency added. The CDC said more than 1,644 people sickened in the outbreak reported eating at Taco Bell restaurants in the five affected states.

What Retail Traders Think Of SG Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Sweetgreen trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels.

SG stock is up 11% year-to-date, but down 45% over the past 12 months. The Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF (VBK) is up 21% over the past 12 months, while the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) is up 27%.

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