CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,770,000 shares, an increase of 8.4% from the March 15th total of 10,860,000 shares. Approximately 13.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at CAVA Group

In other news, major shareholder Ronald M. Shaich sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.20, for a total transaction of $85,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,457,634 shares in the company, valued at $254,976,664.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Ronald M. Shaich sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.20, for a total transaction of $85,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,457,634 shares in the company, valued at $254,976,664.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director International S.C.A. Artal sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $132,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,507,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,154,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,547,239 shares of company stock worth $221,525,951.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAVA. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in CAVA Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in CAVA Group by 190.0% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CAVA Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in CAVA Group by 101.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.42.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

CAVA stock traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,650,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,236,657. CAVA Group has a 12 month low of $29.05 and a 12 month high of $71.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.72.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $175.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.03 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 4.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 52.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CAVA Group will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current 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.