CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Shares Down 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA)’s share price traded down 4.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.11 and last traded at $80.9450. 1,249,788 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 3,695,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on CAVA Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CAVA Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.04.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.44. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 148.70, a PEG ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 2.16.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The business had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 1,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $64,563.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 332,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,643,218.70. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett Schulman sold 21,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total value of $1,459,426.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 807,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,421,778.25. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 39,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,572,303 in the last ninety days. 12.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAVA. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,432,000 after purchasing an additional 75,828 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in CAVA Group by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 236,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,447,000 after purchasing an additional 34,860 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in CAVA Group by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 24,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 6.1% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 176,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,875,000 after buying an additional 10,200 shares during the period. 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.