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

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) saw a significant drop in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities reduced their price objective on CAVA Group from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on CAVA Group from $147.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut their target price on CAVA Group from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CAVA Group

In related news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $101,422.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 358,995 shares in the company, valued at $42,785,024.10. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kenneth Robert Bertram sold 678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.39, for a total transaction of $84,336.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,129,039.68. This trade represents a 1.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,235 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,101. Corporate insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,011,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,709,000 after buying an additional 1,357,187 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in CAVA Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,976,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,533,000 after acquiring an additional 491,320 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of CAVA Group by 36,658.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,461,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,035 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,210,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,820,000 after purchasing an additional 321,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,464,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,243,000 after purchasing an additional 363,814 shares in the last quarter. 73.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CAVA Group Stock Up 4.6 %

CAVA Group stock traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.45. 3,263,878 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,986,267. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.10. The company has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 168.37 and a beta of 3.58. CAVA Group has a one year low of $58.22 and a one year high of $172.43.

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

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.