Notable news items/price action moves from Friday’s trading

  • RRGB holder, Oak Street Capital Management LLC, seeks additional board nominees.  Oak Street also sought a temporary moratorium on new unit expansion and a buyback of shares.
  • YUM is facing legal action after a class-action lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell over the “beef” it uses as food and advertises as such.  The lawsuit alleges that the “beef” is, in fact, a concoction with multiple fillers”.
  • SBUX is still in disagreement with Kraft over the termination of their distribution agreement.  SBUX has been highlighting diminished market share as a result of Kraft’s mismanagement.  Kraft’s general counsel has stated that market share “has no bearing on the question of whether they have the right to terminate and walk away for nothing on their own timetable”.
  • CMG faced protesters at one of its downtown Minneapolis restaurants in response to having fired a number of employees after an audit by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Eight protesters were cited for trespassing.
  • RT insider selling news – Grant Kimberly, Vice President, filed to sell ~19k shares.
  • COSI 4Q10 sales results were strong; company-owned restaurants saw comparable store sales increase 6.1%
  • In a quiet day of trading for restaurant stocks, the most notable moves were CAKE (up 1% on accelerating volume) and BWLD (declining -3.6% on accelerating volume). 

TALES OF THE TAPE: RRGB, YUM, SBUX, CMG, RT, COSI, CAKE, BWLD - stocks 124

Howard Penney

Managing Director