Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Stock

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $135.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential downside of 4.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $140.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $155.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on CAVA Group from $113.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on CAVA Group from $125.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.71.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

NYSE CAVA opened at $141.23 on Thursday. CAVA Group has a one year low of $31.47 and a one year high of $172.43. The company has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 307.02 and a beta of 3.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.24.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $243.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.05 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 9.23%. CAVA Group’s revenue was up 38.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that CAVA Group will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 201,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.53, for a total transaction of $25,294,797.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 702,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,196,122.70. This trade represents a 22.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodoros Xenohristos sold 98,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.77, for a total value of $12,387,087.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 424,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,432,881.42. The trade was a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 304,994 shares of company stock valued at $38,310,084 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CAVA Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SpiderRock Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 8.9% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 479,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,364,000 after acquiring an additional 39,319 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 4,803 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 15,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in CAVA Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,728,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

CAVA Group Company Profile

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.