CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Shares Down 3.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) dropped 3.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $78.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. CAVA Group traded as low as $55.50 and last traded at $55.3280. 121,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 3,355,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.45.

CAVA has been the topic of several other reports. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of CAVA Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CAVA Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded CAVA Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas Thompson bought 6,500 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.52 per share, for a total transaction of $432,380.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 19,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,558.92. This trade represents a 50.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

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

CAVA Group Stock Down 3.4%

The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.53.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $368.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.09 million. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 4.82%. CAVA Group’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

CAVA Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.