What Happened?
Shares of casual restaurant chain Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) jumped 4.6% in the afternoon session after Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem raised the price target on the company's stock to $175 from $160, while keeping an "Overweight" rating.
This move suggested a more positive outlook for the company's future stock performance. The new price target represented a 9.38% increase from the previous one. Adding to the upbeat sentiment, this action followed another recent price target hike from Jefferies, which increased its target to $155 from $125 just a couple of days earlier, although it maintained a "Hold" rating. These adjustments from financial analysts indicated a growing confidence in the restaurant company's value.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $151.06, up 4.9% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Brinker International’s shares are very volatile and have had 27 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock gained 4.7% on the news that JPMorgan raised its price target for the company, citing a positive outlook after a meeting with management. The bank increased its price target on the stock to $160 from $155 while it kept its "Overweight" rating. The decision followed discussions with Brinker's leadership that pointed to strong company fundamentals. JPMorgan noted the restaurant operator's effective cost reductions and notable growth in customer traffic as key reasons for its optimism. This positive view was not isolated, as it followed a previous upgrade by Citigroup, which had raised its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral" in the prior month.
Brinker International is up 9.7% since the beginning of the year, but at $151.06 per share, it is still trading 20.1% below its 52-week high of $189.14 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Brinker International’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,739.
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