Cava's stock slides 8% after CEO and other insiders announce stock sales

By Ciara Linnane

CEO Brent Schulman sells 210,504 shares to raise $25.868 million

Cava Group Inc.'s stock (CAVA) fell 8% early Tuesday after the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain's chief executive and other company insiders announced stock sales following a recent spike in the share price driven by better-than-expected earnings.

A flurry of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday revealed that CEO Brent Schulman sold 210,504 shares for $24.868 million, while Ted Xenohristos, the company's co-founder and chief concept officer, sold 98,490 shares for $12.387 million.

Chief Financial Officer Patricia Tolivar sold 5,000 shares for $628,1875, and board member James White sold 1,500 shares for $190,770.

A trust linked to board member David Bosserman sold 5,000 shares for $627,550.

The sales come after Cava, which went public in June 2023, posted earnings last week that showed profit more than doubling from the year-earlier period.

Cava said that a new grilled-steak main dish "significantly" exceeded expectations as the company raised guidance for the year.

See also: Steak, dinner and more men: These have been keys to Sweetgreen's recent growth

Cava opened 18 new restaurants in the quarter, bringing its total to 341. Same-restaurant sales rose 14%, including traffic growth of 9.5%.

Analysts are mostly bullish on the stock. Of 14 analysts polled by FactSet, eight have buy ratings on Cava, while five have hold ratings and one has an underweight rating, the equivalent of sell.

The stock is up 170% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 17.8%.

Read now: Analysts cheer Cava after a successful rollout of grilled-steak option

-Ciara Linnane

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08-27-24 0940ET

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