Wingstop is TD Cowen's top SMID cap stock idea

TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating on Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) and price target of $440.

The firm highlighted that it has incremental confidence in same store sales upside from thesmart kitchen rolling out. Analyst Andrew Charles said checks suggest a sales lift of +5% from the initiative, which is higher than TD Cowen's original forecast for a 2% to 5% lift.

"In our view, the smart kitchen narrative shields the company from lofty 2Q24 laps, while we believe accelerating same store sales should lead the development story to become more appreciated," advised Charles.

Wingstop’s (NASDAQ:WING) Smart Kitchen technology is described as a comprehensive, AI-powered digital transformation of its restaurant operations, designed to dramatically improve speed, efficiency, and consistency across its locations.

Wingstop (WING) is TD Cowen's best overall SMID-cap idea. The bullish long-term view on Wingstop (WING) is that it is deploying enough tactics to reaccelerate traffic and durably grow same store sales in 2026 and beyond. Catalysts seen for the restaurant stock include the smartkitchen technology, more digital ordering upside, and the increased focus on higher margin white meat offerings.

The last two articles on Wingstop (WING) from Seeking Alpha analysts were bearish.

Shares of Wingstop (WING) are up more than 22% on a year-to-date basis after the recent rally.