First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.35, but opened at $15.00. First Watch Restaurant Group shares last traded at $14.82, with a volume of 1,287,110 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on FWRG shares. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reduced their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $21.36.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $910.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.21, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $282.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.98 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction of $66,150,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $215,939,824.80. This represents a 23.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,547,782 shares of company stock worth $66,953,215 over the last quarter. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 12.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,677 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares in the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 1st quarter valued at $758,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,594,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,545,000 after purchasing an additional 122,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 372.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 121,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 95,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.