Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 19th, 2026

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA – Free Report) by 76.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,624 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,335 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.18% of Papa John’s International worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PZZA. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter valued at $12,969,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth $12,767,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Gumshoe Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth about $10,034,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,729,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PZZA. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Papa John’s International from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Papa John’s International from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Read Our Latest Report on PZZA

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $23.35 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.15. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.88 and a 1-year high of $55.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $768.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $482.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.34% and a negative return on equity of 10.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Papa John’s International

(Free Report)

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.