Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Papa John’s International from “hold” to “sell”, adding to a generally cautious analyst outlook on the stock.
• The broader analyst view on PZZA is mixed but leaning negative, with two Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and three Sell ratings; MarketBeat shows an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $36.50.
• The company has also been under pressure from recent results, as its last quarterly earnings missed estimates on both EPS and revenue, and shares were down about 2.5% in the session referenced.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

PZZA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark cut their target price on Papa John's International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Papa John's International from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Papa John's International Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of PZZA opened at $32.86 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $33.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.68. Papa John's International has a 52 week low of $29.55 and a 52 week high of $55.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.12.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.51 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 1.37%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Papa John's International will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John's International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Papa John's International by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company's stock worth $74,950,000 after buying an additional 318,816 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,201,000 after acquiring an additional 161,906 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,816,000 after acquiring an additional 42,810 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company's stock worth $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 874,431 shares of the company's stock worth $42,104,000 after acquiring an additional 26,190 shares during the period.

About Papa John's International

Papa John's International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John's restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John's centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.

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