CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $90.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $86.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 32.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CAVA. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Guggenheim began coverage on CAVA Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on CAVA Group from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on CAVA Group from $75.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CAVA Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.54.

CAVA Group Trading Down 2.3%

CAVA opened at $68.04 on Wednesday. CAVA Group has a twelve month low of $43.41 and a twelve month high of $98.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 130.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.11.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $438.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. CAVA Group’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 9,044 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.75, for a total value of $721,259.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 327,882 shares in the company, valued at $26,148,589.50. The trade was a 2.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, CEO Brett Schulman sold 33,174 shares of CAVA Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 798,669 shares in the company, valued at $71,424,968.67. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 91,747 shares of company stock valued at $7,970,838 in the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CAVA Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of CAVA Group by 347.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 73.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.