Next Century Growth Investors LLC Grows Position in Potbelly Corporation $PBPB

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its stake in Potbelly Corporation by 298.3% in Q1, owning approximately 2.05% of the company valued at $5.88 million.
• Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Potbelly, with Benchmark raising its target from $17.00 to $18.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Potbelly's stock is currently trading around $13.06, with a market cap of $395.20 million and a reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.09 for the last quarter.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB - Free Report) by 298.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 618,591 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 463,275 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned about 2.05% of Potbelly worth $5,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,110,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 24,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 6,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the fourth quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the first quarter valued at about $2,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBPB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Potbelly from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

Potbelly Trading Up 1.8%

Potbelly stock opened at $13.06 on Thursday. Potbelly Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.27 and a 12 month high of $13.67. The firm has a market cap of $395.20 million, a PE ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 1.55. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.86.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Potbelly had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 2.30%.The firm had revenue of $123.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.65 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Potbelly Corporation will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Potbelly Company Profile

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.

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