Stephens Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by stock analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $24.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $38.00. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.60% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John’s International presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $34.38.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $24.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $810.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.88. Papa John’s International has a fifty-two week low of $24.28 and a fifty-two week high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Papa John’s International will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Papa John’s International by 10.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,201,000 after purchasing an additional 161,906 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,816,000 after purchasing an additional 42,810 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,380,000 after buying an additional 21,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 874,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,104,000 after buying an additional 26,190 shares in 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: Second-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $0.46 per share, ahead of analysts’ roughly $0.43–$0.45 expectations, while revenue of $482.4 million also slightly exceeded estimates. EPS improved from $0.41 a year earlier. Papa John’s Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced leadership appointments and expanded the legal chief’s role to include strategy, signaling continued efforts to execute a broader transformation and turnaround plan. Papa Johns Announces Leadership Appointments
• Neutral Sentiment: Management continues to express confidence in the turnaround, but commentary indicates that the recovery is taking longer than expected. The company is targeting $180 million to $190 million of adjusted EBITDA for 2026. Papa John’s Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Papa John’s cut its 2026 forecast, now projecting a 2% to 4% decline in global system-wide sales. It also suspended its dividend to preserve cash and support the turnaround, removing an important component of the stock’s investor appeal. Papa John’s Forecasts Sales Decline and Suspends Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell 8.8% year over year, reflecting continued weakness in the U.S. and broader North American business amid a soft consumer environment. The weaker outlook and dividend suspension outweighed the modest quarterly earnings beat. Papa John’s Cuts Outlook and Suspends Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually heavy put-option activity—21,598 puts purchased, about 430% above typical volume—indicates heightened bearish or hedging interest, although options activity alone does not establish a fundamental change.
• Negative Sentiment: Block & Leviton said it is investigating potential securities-law violations by Papa John’s and certain executives, creating an additional reputational and legal overhang. PZZA Securities Fraud Investigation

Papa John’s International Company Profile

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.