Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Papa John’s International’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS.

PZZA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens dropped their target price on Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John’s International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.44.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $36.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.01. Papa John’s International has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $508.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $523.67 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 1.79%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 181.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 7,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa John’s International in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 41.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 342.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter.

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.