Wendy’s shares were up nearly 30% in Wednesday’s opening trade, with the stock surge resulting in a volatility halt after the markets opened for regular trading.
- Amid the massive 312% surge in retail chatter on Stocktwits, a now-deleted viral post on Reddit asked members to “Save Wendy’s before it’s too late.”
- This comes after Wendy’s poached Steve Cirulis away from Potbelly Sandwich Works, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, to take on the same roles at the burger chain.
- CEO Bob Wright praised Cirulis’ contributions to Potbelly’s turnaround and said he is confident the executive will help accelerate Wendy’s own transformation efforts.
Shares of The Wendy's Co. (WEN) were on track for their best single-day gain in more than six years on Wednesday as retail traders piled into the stock, triggering a volatility halt shortly after the opening bell.
WEN was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Wendy’s shares also crossed the 200-day moving average (DMA) in Wednesday’s opening trade.
Retail Traders Say ‘Ape In’ On WEN
Retail investors are overwhelmingly bullish about Wendy’s following the recent surge.
According to a recent Stocktwits poll about retail’s take on the stock, 75% of the respondents chose “Ape In,” while only 11% said they would “Fade It.” About 13% of the participants said they were not sure about the stock’s prospects.
One user said they are not scared of shorts.
View this Stocktwits post
Another user has a suggestion for traders: set limit sale orders with a minimum price of at least $10 so their brokers don’t lend the shares to short sellers.
View this Stocktwits post
Viral Reddit Post Calls To ‘Save Wendy’s Before It’s Too Late’
Amid the massive 312% surge in retail chatter on Stocktwits, a now-deleted viral post on Reddit asked members to “Save Wendy’s before it’s too late.” This led to a series of posts on WallStreetBets, a forum on the social media platform Reddit.
Short interest in Wendy’s has been on an upward trajectory this year, climbing from 19.7% at the end of April to about 26.4% currently, according to Koyfin data.
WEN Brings In Industry Veteran To Help With Its Turnaround
The rally also came a day after Wendy's announced a key executive hire as part of its turnaround efforts.
Wendy’s on Tuesday recruited Steve Cirulis away from Potbelly Sandwich Works, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, to take on the same roles at the burger chain. Cirulis previously worked alongside CEO Bob Wright at Potbelly.
Wright praised Cirulis’ contributions to Potbelly’s turnaround and said he is confident the executive will help accelerate Wendy’s own transformation efforts.
“With decades of deep experience across large-scale retail and restaurant brands, Steve brings a wealth of expertise across a breadth of disciplines that will benefit our system from day one,” Wright added.
WEN stock is down 3% year-to-date and 34% over the past 12 months. The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) is up 33% over the past 12 months, while the Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund ETF (VBR) is up 24%.
The iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJS) and the S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV) are up 35% during this period.
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