DA Davidson Begins Coverage on CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA)

DA Davidson began coverage on shares of CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CAVA Group from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on CAVA Group from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.82.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

CAVA opened at $79.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.85, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.86 and a 200 day moving average of $61.99. CAVA Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.41 and a fifty-two week high of $101.50.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 8.43% and a net margin of 5.40%.The business had revenue of $274.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CAVA Group will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CAVA Group

In related news, insider Kelly Costanza sold 1,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $106,072.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,139 shares in the company, valued at $7,403,297.46. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kenneth Robert Bertram sold 1,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total value of $72,398.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,319.56. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,572,303. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CAVA Group during the 2nd quarter worth $463,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CAVA Group during the second quarter worth about $57,824,000. Renaissance Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 105,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,387,000 after buying an additional 31,651 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 222,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,441,000 after buying an additional 81,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,098,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

CAVA Group Company Profile

CAVA Group, Inc (NYSE: CAVA) is a leading fast-casual restaurant company specializing in Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Operating under the CAVA brand, the company offers customizable bowls, pitas and salads built around a variety of proteins, grains, fresh vegetables and house-made spreads. With a focus on high-quality ingredients and made-to-order preparation, CAVA aims to deliver a casual yet elevated dining experience for dine-in, takeout and catering customers.

Founded in 2011 in the Washington, DC metro area by Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Katsanis and Brett Schulman, CAVA has pursued an aggressive growth strategy that included the 2018 acquisition of Zoe’s Kitchen.