Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Stock Price

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 10.92% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.23.

CAVA Group Price Performance

CAVA Group stock traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.42. The company had a trading volume of 569,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,450,739. The firm has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 177.69, a PEG ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 2.03. CAVA Group has a one year low of $43.41 and a one year high of $101.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.84 and a 200 day moving average of $66.23.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.04 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The business’s revenue was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CAVA Group will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kenneth Robert Bertram sold 1,074 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total value of $72,398.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,319.56. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 1,039 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $64,563.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 332,205 shares in the company, valued at $20,643,218.70. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 39,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,572,303 over the last three months. 12.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 105.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,228,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,451,000 after buying an additional 2,169,553 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the third quarter worth $114,098,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 27.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 118.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,953,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,432,000 after buying an additional 1,600,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 689.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,387,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,448,000 after buying an additional 1,212,068 shares during the last quarter. 73.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.