Cheesecake Factory upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro upgraded Cheesecake Factory to Outperform from Market Perform with a $42 price target. The company’s Q1 results reflected “encouraging comp resilience” and strong relative outperformance in a softening industry backdrop, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Cheesecake segment margins exceeded 2019 levels for the second consecutive quarter, easing prior margin concerns. With “dynamics improving,” Raymond James sees upside to the stock’s “low valuation” and note the stock’s elevated short interest at 15% of the float.