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

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $86.67, but opened at $89.63. CAVA Group shares last traded at $89.94, with a volume of 1,348,422 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on CAVA Group from $147.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on CAVA Group from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler raised shares of CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.47.

CAVA Group Trading Down 3.0 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 186.41 and a beta of 3.58.

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

Insider Activity at CAVA Group

In other news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $101,422.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 358,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,785,024.10. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 615 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.39, for a total value of $76,499.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,860.76. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,235 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,101 over the last quarter. 12.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CAVA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of CAVA Group by 369.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CAVA Group by 274.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in CAVA Group by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of CAVA Group by 884.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. 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.