Wedbush Has Pessimistic Outlook of CAVA Group Q1 Earnings

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) – Analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of CAVA Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.13 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.17. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for CAVA Group’s current full-year earnings is $0.50 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for CAVA Group’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.09 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.17 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.27 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.25 EPS.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $227.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.34 million. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 5.88%.

CAVA has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CAVA Group from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on CAVA Group from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on CAVA Group from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on CAVA Group from $118.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.47.

CAVA Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAVA opened at $90.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 195.69 and a beta of 3.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.78. CAVA Group has a fifty-two week low of $54.21 and a fifty-two week high of $172.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald M. Shaich sold 622,549 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.40, for a total value of $93,008,820.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,265.80. This represents a 99.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.39, for a total value of $76,499.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,860.76. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 651,784 shares of company stock valued at $96,522,922 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAVA Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 369.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 274.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 884.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

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.