Piper Sandler Cuts Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Price Target to $30.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler cut its price target for Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) from $32 to $30 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 5% downside from the recent close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: three analysts rate the stock a Buy and eight rate it a Hold, with a MarketBeat average target of $43.33 and an overall consensus rating of "Hold."
• Papa John's recently missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.32 vs. $0.40 expected and revenue of $478.6M vs. $485.5M, with revenue down 7.7% year-over-year and weak profitability (net margin 1.44%, negative ROE -11.16%).

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 5.02% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PZZA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.33.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

NASDAQ PZZA traded down $1.27 on Friday, reaching $31.59. 412,498 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,191,376. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.12. Papa John's International has a fifty-two week low of $29.55 and a fifty-two week high of $55.74.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $478.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.51 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 1.44% and a negative return on equity of 11.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Papa John's International will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John's International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,699,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 4th quarter valued at $12,969,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 4th quarter valued at $12,767,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Papa John's International by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company's stock worth $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gumshoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Papa John's International during the 4th quarter worth $10,034,000.

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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