Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Driven Brands in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Driven Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. William Blair raised shares of Driven Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Driven Brands in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Driven Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Driven Brands Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ DRVN opened at $10.75 on Thursday. Driven Brands has a twelve month low of $9.80 and a twelve month high of $19.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -8.67 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 23rd. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. Driven Brands had a positive return on equity of 25.31% and a negative net margin of 9.14%.The business had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $459.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Driven Brands will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Driven Brands news, insider Scott L. O’melia sold 46,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 326,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,231,104. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRVN. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Driven Brands by 82.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Driven Brands by 744.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Driven Brands by 328.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Driven Brands by 1,113.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Driven Brands by 1,347.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Key Driven Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Driven Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Proposed class-action settlement announced by lead counsel, which may cap some litigation risk and was a likely catalyst for buying interest today. Proposed Settlement Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data appears to show zero reported short shares (likely a data error or reporting lag); days-to-cover reported as 0.0 — this is not meaningful evidence of a large short-squeeze. (Internal reporting entries dated 3/19–3/20.)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class actions and investor-alerts filed or announced by law firms (Hagens Berman, Rosen, Kessler Topaz, BFA, Bernstein Liebhard, Pomerantz, etc.) alleging pervasive accounting errors and internal control failures covering fiscal years 2023–2025 after the company said its financials can no longer be relied upon. This wave of litigation follows a reported ~39% stock drop tied to the disclosure and creates ongoing legal, financial restatement, and reputational risk. Hagens Berman Notice BFA/BusinessWire Notice

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: DRVN) is a leading North American provider of automotive aftermarket services, operating through a network of franchised and company-owned locations. The company’s platform encompasses a diverse portfolio of car care and maintenance brands, including Meineke Car Care Centers, Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, Take 5 Oil Change, and Carstar Collision Repair. Driven Brands delivers a full range of services from routine maintenance and oil changes to collision repair, paint protection, and vehicle customization.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Driven Brands serves both individual consumers and commercial clients across the United States and Canada.