Piper Jaffray Maintains Neutral Rating, $39 PT On BJRI

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) delivered a “better than expected first quarter with both EPS and SSS above our estimates and those of the Street. 1Q11 same-store sales were +7.8% and earnings came in at $0.25 per share,” Piper Jaffray reports.

“We believe that 12.0% new unit development (approximately 12 new stores) in FY11 warrants a premium multiple vs. peers,” Piper Jaffray writes. “Further, we continue to believe ongoing restaurant-level investments help support a compelling value proposition for consumers and should in turn help maintain materially stronger SSS trends versus peers. In the context of our fine tuned ‘Dog Bone' thesis, we look for the company to continue taking dining share. We maintain our Neutral rating on BJRI shares and are increasing our PT to $39.”

BJ's Restaurants closed Wednesday at $43.45.