Commerce Bank Takes $722,000 Position in CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CAVA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in CAVA Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,432,000 after purchasing an additional 75,828 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in CAVA Group by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 236,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,447,000 after purchasing an additional 34,860 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in CAVA Group by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CAVA Group by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 9,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the period. 73.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CAVA Group Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CAVA Group stock opened at $67.75 on Thursday. CAVA Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.41 and a 52-week high of $98.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.74.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $368.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.09 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CAVA Group

In other news, insider Kelly Costanza sold 12,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,100. This trade represents a 11.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Karen Kochevar sold 10,000 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,660. This trade represents a 76.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 67,512 shares of company stock worth $6,050,417 in the last three months. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CAVA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CAVA Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CAVA Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets set a $100.00 price target on CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on CAVA Group from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

CAVA Group Profile

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.