Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 6th, 2026

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 76,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,813,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the 2nd quarter worth $182,315,000. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,950,000 after acquiring an additional 318,816 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,201,000 after acquiring an additional 161,906 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,380,000 after purchasing an additional 21,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 874,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,104,000 after purchasing an additional 26,190 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $32.00.

Read Our Latest Report on PZZA

Papa John’s International Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of PZZA stock opened at $22.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.18. The company has a market cap of $746.63 million, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.08. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.08 and a twelve month high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 1.34%.The firm had revenue of $482.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Papa John’s International this week:

Neutral Sentiment: Multiple firms—including Robbins LLP, Rosen Law Firm, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, Faruqi & Faruqi, Levi & Korsinsky, and Pomerantz—issued substantially similar notices. These announcements largely seek to attract investors and potential lead plaintiffs rather than represent separate confirmed lawsuits. Robbins LLP investor alert
Negative Sentiment: The complaint alleges that Papa John’s and certain executives misled investors about the company’s business prospects, potentially exposing the company to litigation costs, damages, and additional scrutiny. The allegations have not been proven in court. Robbins class action announcement
Negative Sentiment: Investors seeking to serve as lead plaintiff generally have until November 2, 2026 to move forward. Continued law-firm outreach could keep the securities case and the company’s disclosures in focus, creating an ongoing overhang for PZZA. Faruqi & Faruqi shareholder notice

Papa John’s International Profile

(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.