CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA)’s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.93 and traded as high as $59.82. CAVA Group shares last traded at $59.2080, with a volume of 3,462,590 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAVA. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $79.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CAVA Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.35.

CAVA Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 107.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.93 and its 200-day moving average is $71.40.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $368.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

CAVA Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, September 18th that permits the company to buy back $100 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other CAVA Group news, insider Douglas Thompson bought 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.52 per share, for a total transaction of $432,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,558.92. The trade was a 50.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in CAVA Group by 84.8% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its position in shares of CAVA Group by 48.6% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 32,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of CAVA Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 12,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 735.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc operates CAVA, a fast-casual restaurant brand serving Mediterranean-inspired food in the United States. Its menu includes customizable bowls and pitas, salads, dips, spreads, grilled proteins, and other Mediterranean dishes, with options designed to accommodate a range of dietary preferences.

The company’s restaurants generally use an assembly-line format that allows customers to build meals from a selection of ingredients and sauces. CAVA also offers its branded dips, spreads, and other products through select grocery and retail channels, extending the brand beyond its restaurant locations.

CAVA was founded in 2010 by Dimitri Moshovitis, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Ted Xenohristos.