Boothbay Fund Management LLC Sells 67,766 Shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB - Free Report) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,766 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Potbelly worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Potbelly in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Potbelly in the 4th quarter worth $121,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Potbelly by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Potbelly by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,610 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Potbelly Stock Up 5.1 %

NASDAQ:PBPB traded up $0.42 on Friday, hitting $8.72. The stock had a trading volume of 273,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,108. Potbelly Co. has a 1 year low of $6.28 and a 1 year high of $13.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.90. The stock has a market cap of $263.10 million, a P/E ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PBPB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Potbelly in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg purchased 22,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.36 per share, with a total value of $207,501.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 124,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,162,203.12. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Potbelly

Potbelly Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises Potbelly sandwich shops in the United States. The company was formerly known as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Inc and changed its name to Potbelly Corporation in 2002. Potbelly Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.