Cheesecake posts
FeedPosted Oct 14th 2009 6:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Stocks to Buy
The U.S.'s 'frugal consumer' era will lead to many casualties in the restaurant chain sector, but
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:
CAKE) won't be one, which is why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for CAKE, first recommended
on June 25, 2009 at a price of $16.30.
Don't expect anything spectacular from CAKE in FY2009 -- flattish to slightly higher same store sales, and only a slight increase in revenue, with most likely a net zero increase in restaurants operated. The aforementioned doesn't sound like much, but at the retail/restaurant chain end of the commerce spectrum, survival is the name of the game under these economic conditions, and Cheesecake Factory will.
Continue reading Look for Cheesecake Factory to be among the success stories when the recession ends
Posted Jan 23rd 2009 5:15PM by Gary E. Sattler (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rumors, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising
The rumor mill announced yesterday that
Playboy Enterprises (NYSE:
PLA) is going to suck it up, pull out, and move its entire operation to its home port of Chicago. According to
a blurb in The New York Post, "Playboy is combining its Web site and magazine staff into one editorial organization." Evidently, the company is feeling the squeeze from 1.5 million free internet porn sites, give or take several million.
In the matter of nudity as entertainment, has the adage "sex sells" been supplanted by the new phase of "sex is free for the taking?" In the world of high gloss paper media, such would seem to be the case. So, what is a gnarly old, skin peddling millionaire to do? Whatever shall become of our most familiar white bunny head?
Hugh Hefner is still smiling, and it seems obvious that he still has some faith in his production staff. However, getting a continuing rise out of the public, and getting them to continue opening their wallets, is quite another matter. The company is
doing fairly well in it's non-media operations, but in the world of cheesecake, it looks pretty much all down hill.
I'm guessing that in the halls of Playboy there have been some extremely hot and sweaty brain storming sessions going on. There is one thing in this situation that I'm almost absolutely certain of: If the gang at Playboy Enterprises can't continue to do something to stimulate some growth, we're sure to see some serious bunny fur fly.
Posted Jun 22nd 2007 11:01AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Darden Restaurants (DRI), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT), Crocs Inc (CROX)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Jabil Circuit (JBL), MGM Mirage (MGM), Darden Restaurants (DRI) and Crocs (CROX) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:
- Robinson Humphries upgraded Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) to Neutral from Reduce citing limited downside risk.
- Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse and to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital based on its better-than-expected Q3 report.
- CIBC upgraded MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform and gives the odds of a takeout at 50/50 but said business remains healthy and that the value of Las Vegas Strip assets should continue to rise for the next several years. Susquehanna said Kerkorian's decision not to pursue the Bellagio and CityCenter assets is a strong vote of confidence in MGM's management to create shareholder value and upgraded shares to Positive from Neutral.
- Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix based on management's positive steps to improve economic profit by selling off its under-performing units.
- ThinkEquity upgraded Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) to Buy from Accumulate on expectations that sales will continue to be strong driven by new product introductions, as well as retail doors and square footage growth...
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Baird upgraded Pentair (NYSE: PNR) to Neutral from Underperform.
- Citigroup upgraded AES Corp (NYSE: AES) to Buy from Hold.
- Credit Suisse upgraded Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) to Outperform from Neutral.
- Raymond James upgraded Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Jun 21st 2007 2:29PM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Forecasts, Bad news, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)
Shares of
Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ:
CAKE) fell more than 7% today after
management lowered its second quarter earnings guidance, citing industry-wide softness and higher dairy costs. The company forecast second quarter revenue would increase 14.5% to 15.5% and quarterly margins would be down 1% year-over-year.
Earlier today,
Bear Stearns downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory to Peer Perform from Outperform on the news. Bear Stearns expected Cheesecake to show revenue growth of 16-17%, or 34c per share. CIBC World Markets followed suit and downgraded shares to Sector Perform from Outperform on the news.
Raymond James cut shares to Outperform from Strong Buy, expecting shares of the restaurant
to trade lower in the near-term. The analyst still considered Cheesecake a good long-term buy, given the likelihood that dairy prices will retreat in time.
Continue reading Cheesecake Factory downgraded on higher dairy costs, industry softness
Posted Jun 21st 2007 11:43AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Bad news, Home Depot (HD), , Office Depot (ODP), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Alltel (AT), Home Depot (HD) and Nokia (NOK) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:
- Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at CIBC, to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James and to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns after the company reduced its second quarter guidance.
- Lehman downgraded Alltel Corp (NYSE: AT) to Equal Weight from Overweight as the firm doesn't expect a competing bid for the company.
- Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform following yesterday's rally and feels that with the HD sale out of the way, the focus will now turn to Home Depot's ability to grow in the challenging do-it-yourself retail market. Goldman cut Nokia to Neutral from Buy on valuation...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- JP Morgan cut Headwaters (NYSE: HW) to Underweight from Neutral.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Jun 8th 2007 10:24AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Allergan (AGN), Lowe's Cos (LOW), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nike Inc (NYSE:
NKE),
Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:
FL),
Tellabs Inc (NASDAQ:
TLAB),
ADTRAN, Inc (NASDAQ:
ADTN) and
Bookham, Inc (NASDAQ:
BKHM) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
- Banc of America downgraded shares of both Nike and Foot Locker to Neutral from Buy, as the firm believes industry pressures in the U.S. could more than offset the potential turn in Europe and benefit from the 2008 Olympics.
- Cowen downgraded shares of ADTRAN, Bookham and Tellabs to Neutral from Outperform.
- Goldman Sachs also downgraded shares of Tellabs, to Sell from Neutral, as the firm believes the stock fully discounts the expected sales and margin improvement.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Posted Apr 25th 2007 11:33AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Amazon.com (AMZN), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE),
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Whirlpool Corp (WHR), Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), Arkansas Best Corp (ABFS) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR) to Hold from Sell with a $107 target after better-than-expected Q1 results.
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Piper Jaffray, to Hold from Sell at Citigroup, to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen, to Sector Perform from Underperform at Pacific Crest and to Buy from Hold at BWS Financial.
- Elsewhere, Stephens raised Arkansas Best Corp (NASDAQ: ABFS) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $30 target.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Mar 28th 2007 10:46AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), , Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Analyst initiations, Time Warner Cable (TWC)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner Inc (TWX), Google Inc (GOOG), Yahoo! Inc (YHOO) and Cheesecake Factory Inc (CAKE) filled out today's more notable initiations:
- Oppenheimer expects Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to benefit from double-digit free-cash-flow growth over the next five years as it integrates Adelphia's (ADELQ) systems. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $47 target.
- AG Edwards initiated Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) with a Buy rating and $550 target to reflect the company's current business model and search growth. Nollenberger also initiated shares of Google with a Buy rating and placed a $575 value on just the core business.
- AG Edwards initiated shares of Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) with a Buy rating and $35 target, expecting Panama to drive ad revenue. Nollenberger started Yahoo! with a Neutral rating saying the company is still a a "solid name" but believes shares are not cheap.
OTHER INITIATIONS
- Lehman Brothers initiated four large-cap brokers: Merrill Lynch & Co (NYSE: MER) and Bear Stearns Cos (NYSE: BSC) were started with Overweight ratings, while Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) were initiated with Equal-Weight ratings. Lehman believes broker dealers are winning greater share of global capital-markets revenue from commercial banks as the products available for managing risk and capital become more sophisticated.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Mar 9th 2007 11:22AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Bad news, Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Goldcorp Inc (GG)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: EchoStar Communications Corp (DISH), PeopleSupport, Inc (PSPT), and Quicksilver, Inc (ZQK) were today's most notable downgrades:
- Credit Suisse downgraded EchoStar Communications Corp (NASDAQ: DISH) to Underperform from Neutral based on valuation and lower probability of an acquisition by AT&T (NYSE: T).
- PeopleSupport Inc (NASDAQ: PSPT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at both Piper Jaffray and Freidman Billings following disappointing Q4 earnings and guidance; JMP Securities cut PeopleSupport to Market Outperform from Strong Buy.
- Quicksilver (NYSE: ZQK) was downgraded by a host of firms: to Market Performer from Outperformer at Piper Jaffray, to Sector Performer from Outperformer at CIBC, to Hold from Buy at W.R. Hambrecht, to Neutral from Accumulate at Buckingham and to Sell from Hold at Wedbush.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Freidman Billings downgraded Tercica, Inc (NASDAQ: TRCA) to Underperform from Market Perform on valuation.
- Prudential cut Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ: CAKE) to Underweight from Neutral citing soft industry sales trends which will impact Q1 and Q2 results.
- Raymond James downgraded Goldcorp Inc (NYSE: GG) to Outperform from Strong Buy.
- Lehman cut Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S) to Equal-Weight from Overweight.
- UBS downgraded New Century Financial Corp (NYSE: NEW) to Reduce from Neutral.
- Stifel downgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: CHRW) to Sell from Hold.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Feb 8th 2007 11:06AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), McDonald's (MCD), Alcoa Inc (AA), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), EMC Corp (EMC)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) and Cheesecake Factory Inc (CAKE) were today's most notable upgrades:
- Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) was upgraded at DA Davidson to Neutral from Sell with a $32 target, following better-than-expected second-quarter results.
- Piper Jaffray upgraded Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ: CAKE) from Market Perform from Underperform on valuation.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Goldman Sachs added both Hewlett Packard Co (NYSE: HPQ) and McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) to its Conviction Buy List.
- JP Morgan upgraded Quest Communications Int'l Inc (NYSE: Q) to Overweight from Neutral based on valuation.
- Citigroup upgraded Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) and Alcan Inc (NYSE: AL) to Buy from Hold to reflect a favorable outlook for metal prices.
- Raymond James upgraded EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) to Outperform from Market Perform following VMware's IPO announcement.
- Wachovia upgraded Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) to Outperform from Market Perform citing the company's withdrawal from the Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP) bid process.
- Baird upgraded Maguire Properties Inc (NYSE: MPG) to Neutral from Underperform with a $42 target.
- Brean Murray upgraded Aeropostale Inc (NYSE: ARO) to Hold from Sell.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
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