Papa John’s (PZZA) jumps on renewed take-private bid chatter

Papa John’s International, Inc. (PZZA) is up 20.5% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: Shares appear to be surging on deal-driven buying after a new report said the company is reviewing a fresh take-private proposal from Irth Capital. The size of the move is consistent with investors rapidly repricing the stock toward a potential buyout level, even though no transaction has been announced by the company.

Details:

A report said Papa John’s is evaluating a new bid from Irth Capital Management that would value the company at roughly $1.5 billion.

The same report described the proposal as a take-private offer, lifting the stock as traders bet on an M&A outcome and/or a higher competing bid.

Irth was described as Qatari-backed, with separate reporting also pointing to Brookfield Asset Management involvement in the proposal.

Earlier takeover speculation around Papa John’s has circulated in the past year, keeping investors sensitive to any renewed M&A headlines.

Sources:

The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$PZZA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 131 institutional investors add shares of $PZZA stock to their portfolio, and 193 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC removed 974,453 shares (-99.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $37,506,695
IRENIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP removed 748,592 shares (-69.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $28,813,306
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 657,093 shares (-63.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $25,291,509
SUSQUEHANNA INTERNATIONAL GROUP, LLP removed 519,196 shares (-77.2%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $19,983,854
ARROWSTREET CAPITAL, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP removed 407,656 shares (-36.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $15,690,679
BRANDES INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LP removed 365,620 shares (-49.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $14,072,713
IMC-CHICAGO, LLC removed 350,152 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $13,477,350

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$PZZA Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $PZZA in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Stephens & Co. issued a "Overweight" rating on 11/07/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $PZZA, check out Quiver Quantitative's $PZZA forecast page.

$PZZA Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $PZZA recently. We have seen 4 analysts offer price targets for $PZZA in the last 6 months, with a median target of $45.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Jim Salera from Stephens & Co. set a target price of $40.0 on 02/27/2026
Todd Brooks from Benchmark set a target price of $50.0 on 02/27/2026
Nick Setyan from Mizuho set a target price of $34.0 on 02/20/2026
Sara Senatore from B of A Securities set a target price of $50.0 on 10/06/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.