CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Stock Jumps 5.4% – What’s Next?

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) shares traded up 5.4% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $55.31 and last traded at $54.68. 515,143 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,338,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CAVA shares. Northcoast Research upgraded CAVA Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $79.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on CAVA Group from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.35.

CAVA Group Stock Up 8.1%

The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.55 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.46 and its 200-day moving average is $71.53.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $368.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

CAVA Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buy back $100 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Douglas Thompson purchased 6,500 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.52 per share, for a total transaction of $432,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 19,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,558.92. This represents a 50.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CAVA Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,279,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CAVA Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,551,000. Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in CAVA Group during the second quarter worth about $1,348,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in CAVA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,833,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in CAVA Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,492,000. Institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

CAVA Group Company Profile

CAVA Group, Inc operates CAVA, a fast-casual restaurant brand serving Mediterranean-inspired food in the United States. Its menu includes customizable bowls and pitas, salads, dips, spreads, grilled proteins, and other Mediterranean dishes, with options designed to accommodate a range of dietary preferences.

The company’s restaurants generally use an assembly-line format that allows customers to build meals from a selection of ingredients and sauces. CAVA also offers its branded dips, spreads, and other products through select grocery and retail channels, extending the brand beyond its restaurant locations.

CAVA was founded in 2010 by Dimitri Moshovitis, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Ted Xenohristos.