Ahead of the Bell: Sonic downgraded
Analyst cuts Sonic's rating, says shares appears to be fully valued
NEW YORK (AP) -- An analyst lowered Sonic's rating on Friday, saying that the restaurant operator's stock seems to be fully valued.
Lynne Collier of Sterne, Agee & Leach cut Sonic Corp. to "Neutral" from "Buy." In a client note, the analyst said that the Oklahoma City company's risk/reward seems pretty balanced considering that the stock has climbed 48 percent over the past 12 months.
Collier said the rating was lowered because the stock hit the target price of $12 earlier this month.
The analyst views increased marketing and menu changes as potential intermediate-term catalysts.
Shares of Sonic closed at $11.93 on Thursday. Its shares rose to a 52-week high of $12.16 on March 19. They traded as low as $6.84 last April. For the year to date, the stock is up 15 percent.
