Cava IPO signals market boom ahead, bankers say

Bankers are hailing Cava as the beginning of a new bull market — and they believe it may be the magic bullet that nudges companies to finally go public. 

“This was a day that everyone on The Street was watching after the ice age for IPOs,” Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives said. “It’s the IPO heard round the world.”

M&A advisers are already licking their chops hoping that this will spark new business that could finally mean a turnaround for banking revenue and bankers’ bonuses. 

“This tells us the game is back on and the investment bankers who have been on an 18-month vacation will have to get back to work,” Thomas Hayes, Founder of Great Hill Capital said. “All the IPOs in waiting are going to hit the market next year.”

Cava’s stock price almost doubled at the open — with the stock jumping from $22 per share to $42 per share.

“We think the markets are always welcoming long-term sustainable growth stories, especially category defining brands, as we try and define the Mediterranean category,” Cava CEO Brett Schulman said in a statement.

Not everyone is buying into the hype. Some market-watchers believe Cava could become the next Sweetgreen — which debuted at $52 and has since dropped to around $10 per share as investors realize the popular salad chain has less-than-sweet profits.

Still others are withholding their judgment for now. 

“The jury is out,” Kristi Marvin, SPACinsider’s founder & CEO, told On The Money. “I’d like to see one or two more successful IPOs before it’s game on.”