CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $100.00 price target on CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on CAVA Group from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research set a $95.00 target price on CAVA Group in a research report on Tuesday. Argus set a $92.00 price target on CAVA Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CAVA Group from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.44.

CAVA Group Stock Down 3.8%

CAVA stock opened at $76.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.43 and a 200 day moving average of $76.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 147.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.68. CAVA Group has a twelve month low of $43.41 and a twelve month high of $98.79.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $438.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CAVA Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CAVA Group

In other CAVA Group news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 33,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.43, for a total value of $2,966,750.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 798,669 shares in the company, valued at $71,424,968.67. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Karen Kochevar sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,660. This represents a 76.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,747 shares of company stock valued at $7,970,838. 6.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 105.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,228,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,451,000 after buying an additional 2,169,553 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of CAVA Group by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,440,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805,174 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in CAVA Group by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,953,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,630 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in CAVA Group by 689.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,387,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in CAVA Group by 1,378.3% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,260,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.