BUZZ - BJ's Restaurants shares rise after Mizuho Securities turns bullish

October 1 - ** Shares of the casual dining chain BJ's Restaurants (BJRI.O) rose 3.7% on Thursday to $59.40, ending a four-day losing streak. Previously, Mizuho raised its rating from "neutral" to "outperform" and pointed out that third-quarter results are expected to beat expectations.

** The broker raised its target price by $2 to $76, about 33% higher than the stock’s last closing price.

** Mizuho raised its third-quarter same-store sales growth estimate from 4.6% to 5.5%, saying this figure surpasses the market consensus of 4.3%, and noted that promotional activities and upgraded menu offerings are the main drivers of growth.

** Mizuho stated that as growth prospects become clearer toward 2027, BJRI’s current valuation of 7.6 times is expected to move closer to the industry average of 9.9 times for the 2027 enterprise value/EBITDA multiple.

** BJRI’s shares are up about 51% so far this year, compared with a 30% gain by the S&P 600 Restaurant Index .SPSMCREST, but they are still about 20% below the 52-week intraday high of $74.60 reached on July 30.

** According to LSEG data, 5 out of 9 brokers rate the stock as "buy" or "strong buy," with 4 rating it "hold." The median target price is $76.

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