Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) reached a new 52-week high of $17.03, up from the previous close of $12.93, with a trading volume of nearly 4.67 million shares.
• Analyst ratings are mixed: Benchmark upgraded the stock to a "buy" with a target price of $18.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to a "hold" rating.
• Potbelly reported earnings of $0.09 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and demonstrated a revenue of $123.71 million, outperforming analyst predictions.

Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $17.01 and last traded at $17.03, with a volume of 4679745 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $17.12 in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum cut shares of Potbelly from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.12 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Potbelly currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.41.

Potbelly Stock Down 0.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $514.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.57 and a beta of 1.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.97.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBPB. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Potbelly by 53.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the first quarter valued at about $57,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Potbelly by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in shares of Potbelly in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.