CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Raised to “Buy” at Melius Research

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $95.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 82.43% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAVA. Morgan Stanley upgraded CAVA Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Compass Point upgraded CAVA Group to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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 issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.88.

CAVA Group Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE CAVA opened at $52.08 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 94.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.80. CAVA Group has a 52 week low of $43.41 and a 52 week high of $98.79.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $368.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.09 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 8.28%. CAVA Group’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CAVA Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

CAVA Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CAVA Group news, insider Douglas Thompson purchased 6,500 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.52 per share, with a total value of $432,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,558.92. This trade represents a 50.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAVA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CAVA Group in the second quarter valued at $757,013,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in CAVA Group by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,605,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000,000 after purchasing an additional 697,699 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in CAVA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,956,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CAVA Group during the second quarter worth about $89,861,000. Finally, Prime Capital Management Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd now owns 1,031,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,546,000 after buying an additional 490,300 shares during the period. 73.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CAVA Group Company Profile

CAVA Group, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company focused on Mediterranean-inspired food and hospitality. Its restaurants offer customizable meals such as grain bowls, salads, pitas and dips, with ingredients and flavors influenced by the cuisines of the Mediterranean region. The company also provides digital ordering, delivery and catering services through its restaurant platform.

CAVA began as a Washington, DC-area restaurant concept and has expanded its operations across the United States.