According to a news report from forbes.com, “A JPMorgan analyst on Friday lauded gourmet pizza chain California Pizza Kitchen Inc. for its return to profit growth, but said investing in the company is still a risk due to the cooling casual-dining environment.”
“Analyst Steven Rees initiated coverage on the chain with a “Neutral” rating and noted that “recent sales and earnings trends have outperformed the casual-dining sector.” Rees said the chain’s same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are up 4.4 percent so far in fiscal 2007. Same-store sales is a key indicator of restaurant performance since it measures growth at existing locations rather than newly-opened ones,” said the story.
