DA Davidson Begins Coverage on CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA)

Research analysts at DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CAVA. Johnson Rice set a $72.00 target price on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. KeyCorp raised their price target on CAVA Group from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on CAVA Group from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CAVA Group from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on CAVA Group from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.82.

CAVA Group Price Performance

NYSE CAVA opened at $79.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.99. CAVA Group has a 12 month low of $43.41 and a 12 month high of $101.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.85, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 2.16.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $274.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.04 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CAVA Group will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CAVA Group news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 21,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total transaction of $1,459,426.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 807,325 shares in the company, valued at $54,421,778.25. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 1,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $64,563.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 332,205 shares in the company, valued at $20,643,218.70. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 39,055 shares of company stock worth $2,572,303 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAVA. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in CAVA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CAVA Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,432,000 after buying an additional 75,828 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in CAVA Group by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 236,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,447,000 after acquiring an additional 34,860 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in CAVA Group by 192.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,885,000 after acquiring an additional 92,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in CAVA Group in the second quarter valued at $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

About CAVA Group

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.