NDLS - Noodles & Company stock slumps on CFO exit analyst downgrade

2023-05-19 11:37:26 ET

Noodles & Company ( NASDAQ: NDLS ) stock slid about 15% on Friday after announcing the coming departure of its CFO and losing a bull.

The company announced on Thursday evening that CFO Carl Lukach has resigned, effective June 9. The company stated that Lukach has “accepted a similar role at a company in the retail industry” and will shift to that position following his departure. The new company to which he will be moving after about two and a half years at Noodles & Company ( NDLS ) was not disclosed. A search has been commenced for a replacement, with CEO Dave Boennighausen filling in as interim CFO in the meantime.

Also on Friday, the company fielded a downgrade from Stephens Research, which highlighted the CFO departure as well as weakening traffic flagged in earnings results earlier in the month as factors in the reassessment.

“From a brand perspective, we believe the long-term growth opportunity remains intact and that the brand remains in a stronger position now relative to prior years following a series of menu, operational, and technology initiatives,” equity analyst Joshua Long told clients. “From a stock perspective, we believe the NDLS story could prove to be incrementally more of a "show-me" over the remainder of 2023 with a need for regaining momentum around top-line/traffic trends, continued operational execution, and line of sight on steady to accelerating unit growth before the stock can get credit for the longer term growth opportunity and/or justify a higher valuation multiple.”

He cut his price target to $5 from a prior $7 alongside the downgrade. Shares of Noodles & Company ( NDLS ) slumped 13.78% in Friday’s trading.

More on Noodles & Company:

Dig into the company’s latest earnings results

Noodles & Company Q1 Earnings Call Transcript

Noodles & Company Announces CFO Departure

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