What Happened?
Shares of restaurant company Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) fell 2.6% in the afternoon session after investor jitters grew ahead of its upcoming quarterly earnings announcement. Analysts anticipated the company would report a loss per share of $0.71.
Furthermore, revenue was expected to fall by 5.5% compared to the same period in the previous year. This investor caution may have been influenced by the company's recent history. Following its last earnings report, where it missed earnings per share estimates, the stock dropped 7.64% in the subsequent trading session. Adding to the negative sentiment, the company's shares had already fallen significantly over the previous 52-week period.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Cracker Barrel? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Cracker Barrel’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 38 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 2.1% on the news that analysts lowered their price targets for the company, signaling concern about its near-term financial outlook. Specifically, UBS adjusted its price target on the stock down to $30 from $48, while maintaining a Neutral rating. This followed a move from the previous day when Truist Securities also reduced its price target to $50 from $58. Truist cited a challenging outlook and expectations that Cracker Barrel would miss same-store sales and earnings per share forecasts in its upcoming report. The combined price target reductions highlighted analysts' reevaluation of the company's market prospects.
Cracker Barrel is down 50.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $27.06 per share, it is trading 62.3% below its 52-week high of $71.86 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Cracker Barrel’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $203.52.
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