The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on Jersey Mike’s (NYSE:JMKE)

Investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Jersey Mike’s (NYSE:JMKE) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on JMKE. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Jersey Mike’s in a research report on Monday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Mizuho started coverage on Jersey Mike’s in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Jersey Mike’s in a research report on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim started coverage on Jersey Mike’s in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Jersey Mike’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jersey Mike’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.32.

Jersey Mike’s Price Performance

Shares of JMKE stock opened at $23.55 on Tuesday. Jersey Mike’s has a 52 week low of $20.63 and a 52 week high of $24.99.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Abu Dhabi Investment Authority sold 4,411,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.85, for a total value of $96,381,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,114,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,096,843.20. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michele Allen bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $230,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,043 shares in the company, valued at $230,989. This trade represents a 23,255.81% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 31,584 shares of company stock valued at $726,432.

Jersey Mike’s News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Jersey Mike’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains strongly favorable. Jefferies upgraded Jersey Mike’s to “strong buy,” Royal Bank of Canada raised its view to “moderate buy,” and Wells Fargo initiated an upgrade to “hold.” The latest calls add to a large group of firms rating the stock Buy, Outperform, or Overweight. Zacks.com analyst rating coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Initial post-IPO coverage from major banks included price targets ranging from $27 to $29, with UBS at $28 and Bank of America at $27. Loop Capital issued the most aggressive target at $40, indicating that analysts see meaningful upside from the IPO price. Jersey Mike’s gets initial Buy ratings across major banks
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts cited Jersey Mike’s franchise-heavy, high-margin operating model, continued same-store sales opportunities, and substantial domestic and international unit-growth potential. Some analysts believe the chain could eventually challenge Subway’s position as the leading sandwich chain. Jersey Mike’s could overtake Subway as top sandwich chain
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s “hold” rating provides a more cautious counterpoint to the otherwise optimistic coverage, suggesting that some investors may wait for additional public-company results before assigning a higher valuation. Zacks.com rating update

Jersey Mike’s Company Profile

We are Jersey Mike’s: A high-growth franchisor of fast casual, submarine-style sandwich restaurants specializing in authentic, hand-crafted, craveable subs. Built over 70 years on one uncompromising belief – that a truly great sub sandwich can change your day and that a truly great brand changes its community – Jersey Mike’s is now one of the largest and fastest-growing limited-service restaurant brands based on U.S. systemwide sales and unit growth, with 3,300 stores across all 50 states and two countries – nearly all of which are franchised.