Granahan Investment Management LLC Acquires 73,088 Shares of CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management increased its CAVA Group holdings by 31.7% in the first quarter, buying 73,088 more shares and bringing its total stake to 303,891 shares worth about $24.6 million.
• CAVA reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.17 consensus and revenue of $438.3 million, up 32.1% year over year.
• Despite the strong earnings and bullish analyst sentiment, the stock was down 1.7% and insider selling has continued, including notable sales by a director and the CAO in recent weeks.

Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA - Free Report) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,891 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,088 shares during the period. CAVA Group makes up 1.2% of Granahan Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of CAVA Group worth $24,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAVA. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 74.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 13,977 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of CAVA Group by 513.6% during the 4th 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 raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd now owns 1,031,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,546,000 after buying an additional 490,300 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in CAVA Group during the 4th quarter valued at $19,460,000. Finally, Nepsis Inc. raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 176,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,370,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the period. 73.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CAVA Group Stock Down 1.7%

CAVA opened at $62.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.63 and a 200 day moving average of $77.19. CAVA Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.41 and a 52-week high of $98.79. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.46, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.69.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 4.79%.The company had revenue of $438.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. CAVA Group's quarterly revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karen Kochevar sold 10,000 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,074 shares in the company, valued at $276,660. This trade represents a 76.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 757 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.43, for a total transaction of $67,698.51. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $612,416.64. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 91,747 shares of company stock valued at $7,970,838. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAVA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research set a $95.00 price target on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.54.

CAVA Group Company 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.

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