PZZA CHANGING OUR RATING ON PAPA JOHN’S BASED ON…

We upgrade the shares of Papa John’s (PZZA) to Buy (from Neutral). We have been impressed with the strides Papa John’s has made with (and following) the recent strategic investment of Starboard Value, including the recent naming of basketball legend and businessman Shaquille O’Neal to Papa John’s board of directors and as a brand ambassador (and franchisee), and the appointment of former Subway SVP of Marketing for North America Karlin Linhardt as Papa John’s Global Chief Marketing Officer.

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