Noodles & Company downgraded at Benchmark on consumer focus ‘mismatch’

As previously reported, Benchmark downgraded Noodles & Company to Hold from Buy and removed the firm’s prior price target Q2 results displayed evidence of “a mismatch” between the company’s newly introduced, higher-quality menu and the current consumer environment “hyper-focused on value,” the analyst tells investors. Given a near-term mismatch between a newly reinvented menu at higher price points and consumers who are increasingly seeking out price-point focused value, the firm steps to the sidelines as it awaits the response to a newly introduced value platform and any improvement in the overall consumer environment.