Why Casual-Dining Stocks Are Soaring Today
Shares of casual-dining stocks including Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ: BLMN), Brinker International (NYSE: EAT), Dine Brands Global (NYSE: DIN), and Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) are moving higher today after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BionTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) announced that phase 3 trials for their COVID-19 vaccine showed it was effective in more than 90% of participants.
Casual-dining chains have been among the biggest losers during the pandemic as restrictions have been imposed on indoor dining across much of the country and many Americans have been reluctant to visit restaurants for safety reasons.
As of 11:20 a.m. EST, Bloomin' Brands, the parent of Outback Steakhouse, was up 18%; Chili's parent Brinker had gained 11.2%; Dine Brands, which owns Applebee's and IHOP, had tacked on 17.3%; and steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse was up 13.2%. At the same time, the S&P 500 had jumped 2.9% and the Russell 2000, which is made up of small-cap stocks like some of the names above, had risen 5.5%, showing investors expect beaten-down smaller companies to be the biggest beneficiaries of the vaccine news.
Source Fool.com
