Wedbush Issues Negative Estimate for CAVA Group Earnings

CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) – Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of CAVA Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the company will earn $0.25 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.27. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target 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 FY2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CAVA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $160.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler raised shares of CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $142.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $147.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.47.

CAVA Group Price Performance

CAVA opened at $84.69 on Thursday. CAVA Group has a fifty-two week low of $58.22 and a fifty-two week high of $172.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.31 and its 200 day moving average is $123.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 184.10 and a beta of 3.58.

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

Institutional Trading of CAVA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in CAVA Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 4,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 6,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 73.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CAVA Group news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $101,422.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 358,995 shares in the company, valued at $42,785,024.10. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tricia K. Tolivar sold 2,086 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $248,609.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 235,592 shares in the company, valued at $28,077,854.56. This represents a 0.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,235 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,101. Company insiders own 12.10% 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.