Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's Why

Key Points

• Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) experienced a significant rise in trading volume, with approximately 854,031 shares exchanged, marking a 101% increase from the previous session.
• Equities analysts have downgraded Potbelly's stock rating to "hold" from "strong-buy" or "buy," with price targets ranging from $17.12 to $18.00.
• Institutional investors hold 72.60% of Potbelly's stock, with notable increases in shares by firms like Next Century Growth Investors and American Century Companies.

Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 854,031 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 101% from the previous session's volume of 425,479 shares.The stock last traded at $17.02 and had previously closed at $17.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on PBPB shares. Benchmark lowered shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $17.12 in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut shares of Potbelly from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.12 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.41.

Potbelly Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $514.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.60 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.13.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $123.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.65 million. Potbelly had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 16.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Potbelly Corporation will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Potbelly by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,012 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.60% of the company's stock.

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.