Cheesecake Factory poised to hit fresh record after Q2 beat
BUZZ-Cheesecake Factory poised to hit fresh record after Q2 beat ** Restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory's CAKE.O shares up 4.5% to $93 in premarket trading Weds after qtrly results surpassed Wall Street's expectations
** CAKE shares hit an all-time intraday peak of $89.22 on Tues; stock had surged 76% YTD as of last close
** Calabasas Hills, California-based firm late Tues posted Q2 rev of $1.03 bln and adj EPS of $1.44, above analysts' estimates of $997.95 mln and $1.17, respectively, per LSEG data
** Comparable restaurant sales increased 5.8% yr/yr
** CEO David Overton said co's comparable sales and traffic outperformed the broader casual dining industry, adding that momentum from menu innovation, rewards programs and marketing efforts drove top-line performance
** CAKE opened 4 new restaurants in Q2, and expects to open up to 26 new restaurants in fiscal 2026
** At least 8 brokerages hike their PTs: Morgan Stanley upgrades rating to 'equal-weight' from 'underweight', raises PT to $80 from $50
** BofA Global Research ups PT to $98 from $86, Deutsche Bank boosts PT to $92 from $68
** Of 21 brokerages, 4 rate the stock "strong buy", 16 rate "hold" and 1 recommends "sell"; median PT of $90 up from $67 a month ago
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))