02:05 PM EDT, 10/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We raise our 12-month target price by $6 to $59, 20x our 2026 EPS estimate, a discount to its 24x three-year forward average P/E, reflecting risks from PZZA's ongoing turnaround. We raise our 2025 EPS estimate to $2.21 from $2.19 and raise 2026's to $2.92 from $2.63. We believe PZZA's turnaround opportunity, which includes a refreshed brand image ("Meet the Makers" campaign), a revamped loyalty program seeing traction (+2.7M since the November 2024 relaunch), and margin expansion potential (cost of sales declined 120 bps Y/Y in Q2), could deliver significant EPS upside (we estimate 30% growth in 2026). Our higher estimates also reflect better-than-expected comparable sales trends reported by pizza QSR peers, along with continued gains in traffic. We feel recent private equity interest of $64 by Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO 125 ****) validates our constructive view and highlights the value creation potential we see in PZZA's operational improvements. Thus, we reiterate our Buy opinion.