BJ's Restaurants rises as Wedbush upgrades to 'outperform'

BJs Restaurants

18/04/2023 16:14

** Shares of BJ's Restaurants Inc  BJRI.O  up ~5% at $29.07
in morning trade 
    ** Stock of the restaurant chain on course to snap two-day
losing streak, if gains hold 
    ** Wedbush upgrades BJRI to "outperform" from "neutral",
while reiterates PT of $36
    ** Brokerage says Q1 checkspoints to same-store sales growth
trending "in line with or above consensus of 8.2%"
    ** "Positive commentary included higher pricing, improved
staffing levels, and sustained levels of off-premise sales,"
says Wedbush
    ** Brokerage notes while it is currently slightly above
consensus on margins, it believes more upside is possible
    ** Expects continued pressure on category traffic, adds that
"while we expect BJRI to outperform the category, our Q2 traffic
estimate is (2.5)%"
    ** Wedbush increases 2023 EPS estimate to $0.72 from $0.65
    ** Five of 11 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher,
four "hold" and two as "sell" or lower; median PT is $35.50 -
Refinitiv
    ** YTD, stock up 10.4%

 (Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru)
 ((Granth.Vanaik@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vanaik_Granth))