CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $90.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $86.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CAVA. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of CAVA Group to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.54.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

CAVA Group stock opened at $69.72 on Wednesday. CAVA Group has a 1 year low of $43.41 and a 1 year high of $98.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.69.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $438.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.89 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 7.92%. CAVA Group’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CAVA Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CAVA Group

In other CAVA Group news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 3,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.43, for a total transaction of $290,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 324,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,031,660.90. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Kelly Costanza sold 12,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,124,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,100. The trade was a 11.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 91,747 shares of company stock valued at $7,970,838 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in CAVA Group by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,440,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,344,000 after buying an additional 1,805,174 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,885,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,718,000 after purchasing an additional 656,581 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of CAVA Group by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,318,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,786,000 after purchasing an additional 835,628 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,920,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,401,000 after purchasing an additional 36,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,419,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,986,000 after purchasing an additional 530,524 shares in the last quarter. 73.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.