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Will the Pretzel Burger save Wendy's?

Will the Pretzel Burger save Wendy's?
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Will the Pretzel Burger save Wendy's?

Foodies rejoice! Wendy's has announced plans to bring back its beloved pretzel bun.

After a six-month hiatus, the fast-food giant said on Wednesday that it would return its signature Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger and Pretzel Pub Chicken to the Wendy's menu on July 4th weekend.

In a news release, the company's chief marketing officer Craig Banhner said, "The pretzel bun was a cornerstone of our menu innovation last year, and we are bringing it back to delight consumers who love this special taste from Wendy's."

(Read: Big restaurant chains dip in customer satisfaction)

The wildly popular burger, which was first available from July 2013 through November 2013, was consumed by more than 50 million Americans. During that same time, Wendy's saw an increase in sales by 3 percent, and coincidentally, the stock was up nearly 50 percent.

Wendy's stock moved higher Wednesday following the news, but is still down nearly 2 percent on the year. So, will the return of the pretzel bun give Wendy's shares a must needed boost?

"This is an interesting innovation in the food industry," said Gina Sanchez founder of Chantico Global, who pointed out that when Wendy's first introduced the pretzel bun, it sent ripples across the fast-food space and competitors like Sonic and Dairy Queen soon followed suit.

(Read: )

However, Sanchez isn't 100 percent on board with Wendy's right now. "I think Wendy's is going to need more than just a burger," she said. "They're a high P/E stock, trading at 28 times trailing, 25 times forward earnings. That's pretty highly priced." Sanchez also noted that the company saw a number of store closings last year, which negatively affected revenue.

Her bottom line, "I think the pretzel burger is one of the many things they are going to need to do to justify that valuation."

As far as the technicals, Auerbach Grayson's global technical analyst Richard Ross sees opportunity in Wendy's. And his main point of conviction is a five-year base of support that has formed on the long-term chart. "In technical analysis we say the bigger the base, the great the space up above. And I think there still could be room here."

Ross noted that a break below $8 per share could be detrimental for the stock, but the potential for upside is still strong. "I think there's still some room for upside here if the stock could get going and maybe this pretzel burger bun situation is just the catalyst to unlock this chart."

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