Investors should add Panera Bread shares to the menu as customers are flocking to healthy additions to the fast-casual chain's menu, according to Piper Jaffray, which reiterated its overweight rating.
"We are buyers of PNRA shares following our recent checks that suggest Panera's new culinary introductions during the quarter (specifically new salads) are driving traffic and sales," Piper Jaffray's Nicole Miller Regan wrote in a Monday note to clients. "Although still early, we believe our checks may also suggest that consumers are crediting incremental visits to Panera on products being both differentiated and as having an increasingly health conscious appeal. We see this as encouraging given the company's ongoing efforts around reinvesting in food quality and removing artificial flavorings and additives throughout the supply chain."
