CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $81.00, but opened at $82.62. CAVA Group shares last traded at $85.34, with a volume of 719,354 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAVA shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on CAVA Group from $160.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on CAVA Group from $147.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.47.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 186.64 and a beta of 3.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.36.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $227.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.34 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 9.10%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CAVA Group

In related news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 20,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $2,450,817.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 776,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,527,657.42. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kenneth Robert Bertram sold 678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.39, for a total value of $84,336.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,129,039.68. The trade was a 1.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,235 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,101 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CAVA Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in CAVA Group by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,408,000 after buying an additional 19,225 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC bought a new stake in CAVA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in CAVA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,561,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CAVA Group by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in CAVA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. 73.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the United States. The company also offers dips, spreads, and dressings through grocery stores. In addition, the company provides online and mobile ordering platforms. Cava Group, Inc was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.