Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Price Target Lowered to $26.00 at Piper Sandler

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PZZA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday. Benchmark lowered Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.88.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.14. 1,861,425 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,339. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $794.17 million, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.13. Papa John’s International has a one year low of $23.84 and a one year high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 1.37%.The company had revenue of $482.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Papa John’s International’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Skylands Capital LLC bought a new position in Papa John’s International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter.

Key Stories Impacting Papa John’s International

Here are the key news stories impacting Papa John’s International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Papa John’s reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.46 per share and revenue of $482.4 million, modestly exceeding analysts’ estimates. Earnings also increased from $0.41 per share in the year-ago quarter. Papa John’s Q2 earnings and revenues beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced leadership appointments intended to support its ongoing transformation strategy, which could help improve execution over time. Papa John’s announces leadership appointments
• Neutral Sentiment: Papa John’s expanded the chief legal officer’s responsibilities to include strategy, signaling an effort to strengthen its turnaround plan as competition intensifies. Papa John’s strategy role for legal chief
• Negative Sentiment: Management forecast a 2% to 4% decline in 2026 global system-wide sales, reduced its outlook and suspended the dividend. The company is targeting $180 million to $190 million in adjusted EBITDA, but the weaker sales forecast and ongoing U.S. struggles point to a slower-than-expected turnaround. Papa John’s forecasts sales decline and suspends dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating but cut its price target to $24 from $38, indicating substantially reduced expectations for the stock. Stephens price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually heavy put-option activity and a securities-fraud investigation announcement may further weigh on sentiment, although neither necessarily establishes wrongdoing by Papa John’s or its executives. PZZA securities-fraud investigation

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.