Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA)

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 13,252 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 37% compared to the average volume of 9,642 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAVA shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of CAVA Group to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on CAVA Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CAVA Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CAVA Group from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on CAVA Group from $75.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.54.

CAVA Group Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:CAVA traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,908,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,091. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.21. CAVA Group has a 52 week low of $43.41 and a 52 week high of $98.79.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. CAVA Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $438.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. CAVA Group’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CAVA Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CAVA Group news, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 5,181 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $399,662.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,215.70. The trade was a 35.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karen Kochevar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,660. The trade was a 76.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 91,747 shares of company stock valued at $7,970,838 over the last three months. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in CAVA Group by 74.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 13,977 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of CAVA Group by 513.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 15,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd grew its position in shares of CAVA Group by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd now owns 1,031,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,546,000 after purchasing an additional 490,300 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the fourth quarter worth about $19,460,000. Finally, Nepsis Inc. lifted its position in shares of CAVA Group by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 176,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

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.