Notable news items/price action from the past twenty-four hours.

  • SBUX will begin selling instant coffee in China next month.   The stock gained 1.4% yesterday, outperforming QSR peers, on accelerating volume. 
  • SONC was upgraded to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna.  Yesterday the company announced its estimate that second fiscal quarter same-store sales increased 1.0%-1.5% for the quarter, continuing the improving sales trend from the first quarter.
  • EAT gained 4.3% on strong volume following yesterday morning’s upgrade from UBS on stabilizing Chili’s trends.
  • DIN declined 5% on accelerating volume.  DIN spoke at the RJ conference yesterday.
  • CMG was downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jeffries.  Rising food cost inflation was cited as the reason behind the change and the price target provided was $198.
  • CBRL gained 50 basis points on accelerating volume but will likely underperform if oil trends higher. 
  • MCD U.S. comps came in at +2.7% versus the estimate of +4.0%.  I will have a more detailed post on this later this morning.
  • TAST trading up on accelerating volume - Burger King gaining some traction?
  • An interesting story on NRN.com highlights growing scrutiny restaurant companies are being placed under about the legal status of their workers.  Pei Wei Asian Diner is the latest target of investigation in this regard following the (ongoing) investigation of CMG that came to light recently.

TALES OF THE TAPE: SBUX, SONC, EAT, DIN, CMG, CBRL, MCD - stocks 38

Howard Penney

Managing Director