Short Interest in CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) Declines By 32.6%

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,070,000 shares, a drop of 32.6% from the February 13th total of 9,010,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,880,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CAVA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler raised CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $142.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on CAVA Group from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.47.

CAVA Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of CAVA stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,090,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,889,165. CAVA Group has a 1-year low of $58.22 and a 1-year high of $172.43. The firm has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 171.06 and a beta of 3.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.08 and its 200-day moving average is $124.14.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $227.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.34 million. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 5.88%. On average, analysts forecast that CAVA Group will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CAVA Group

In other CAVA Group news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 20,564 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 $2,450,817.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 776,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,527,657.42. This trade represents a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $101,422.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 358,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,785,024.10. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,235 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,101 over the last quarter. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cim LLC acquired a new position in CAVA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of CAVA Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,561,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the period. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CAVA Group during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in CAVA Group during the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. 73.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.