** Shares of Applebee's parent Dine Brands Global DIN.N
fall as much as 5.3% to $60.82
** Brokerage Wedbush downgrades stock to "neutral" from
"outperform" due to weaker demand in its restaurants Applebee's
and IHOP in the current quarter
** Wedbush also cuts PT to $65 from $80
** It is tough to drive sales higher in the medium term as
demand for overall casual dining category continues to decline -
brokerage
** With inflation headwinds decelerating, brokerage expects
franchisees to not lift prices frequently, which has been the
primary driver of same-store sales growth in its brands
** Five of 8 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 3
"hold"; median PT is $82 - Refinitiv
** Stock down over 5% so far in 2023
(Reporting by Anne Florentyna Gnanaraja Sekar in Bengaluru)
((AnneFlorentyna.GnanarajaSekar@thomsonreuters.com;))