Cava has the ingredients for success, according to KeyBanc. Analyst Christopher Carril initiated the Mediterranean chain restaurant’s stock at overweight. Carril’s $100 price target implies 21.5% upside over Tuesday’s closing level. “With few direct competitors, CAVA is the leading brand in the fast growing Mediterranean fast casual segment,” Carril wrote in a Tuesday note to clients. “Like Chipotle did over the last two decades, we believe CAVA has the potential to define the category and bring Mediterranean to new markets across the country.” Carril said new-store returns are among the industry’s strongest, which should allow the Washington, D.C.-based company to keep seeing double-digit unit growth. Though there should be some moderation in same-store sales over the near-term, Carril said demand should still be higher than supply. That means same-store sales should continue to do well in the longer-term and stop new store openings from severely impacting other locations. With this call, Carril joins the majority on Wall Street with a buy-equivalent rating, per LSEG. To be sure, Carril pointed out that the stock trades at around 115 times the bank’s 2026 estimate for earnings per share, making it one of the most expensive stocks in the sector. However, the analyst said the stock is worth the premium because of its pricing power, white space opportunity and potential efficiency on profit and loss. Shares of the company, which went public in 2023, rose more than 1% in Wednesday premarket trading. The stock has tumbled around 27% in 2025, reversing course after surging more than 162% in the prior year. CAVA 1Y mountain Cava, 1-year
