Leonteq Securities AG Takes Position in CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 14,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAVA. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 105.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,228,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,451,000 after buying an additional 2,169,553 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the third quarter valued at $114,098,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 118.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,953,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,432,000 after buying an additional 1,600,630 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 28.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,634,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,801,000 after buying an additional 1,469,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 58.8% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,146,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,670,000 after buying an additional 794,547 shares during the last quarter. 73.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting CAVA Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CAVA Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded CAVA Group from hold to buy, reinforcing the optimistic post-earnings sentiment around the stock. Argus upgrade coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continued to lean bullish, with Piper Sandler reaffirming a buy rating, Roth MKM reiterating buy, and TD Cowen maintaining a buy call. Piper Sandler coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted strong Q1 results, including 9.7% same-restaurant sales growth and improved operating leverage, which supports the case for continued fundamental momentum. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson raised its price target to $84 from $80 but kept a neutral rating, suggesting upside potential but also valuation caution. DA Davidson price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was disclosed by CAO Adam David Phillips and insider Kelly Costanza, though Costanza’s sale was tied to tax withholding on vesting equity awards, making the signal less negative than a discretionary sale. SEC filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAVA. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $75.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CAVA Group news, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 5,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $399,662.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,215.70. This represents a 35.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kelly Costanza sold 10,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.87, for a total transaction of $799,498.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 113,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,093,199.50. This trade represents a 8.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,235 shares of company stock worth $1,920,420. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

CAVA Group Price Performance

NYSE CAVA opened at $80.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 154.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.97 and a 200 day moving average of $69.73. CAVA Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.41 and a 1 year high of $98.79.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $438.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.89 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

CAVA Group 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.