Shares of Wendy's (WEN +0.00%) surged on Wednesday on heavy volume as investors rallied behind the beleaguered burger chain.
Image source: Getty Images.
Is this just another meme stock mania?
Users of the popular stock-trading Reddit community WallStreetBets have taken an interest in Wendy's. One particularly viral thread labeled "We need to save Wendy's" garnered over 20,000 upvotes.
The struggling fast-food joint could use all the help it can get. Even after today's gains, Wendy's stock has lost roughly two-thirds of its value over the past five years.
NASDAQ: WEN
Key Data Points
Wendy's operating profit fell 21.9% to $64.9 million in the first quarter, driven by a 6.8% decline in same-store sales. The restaurant chain is facing a challenging combination of declining traffic and rising commodity and labor costs.
Could this be the beginning of a turnaround?
To help right the ship, Wendy's brought on new leadership. New CEO Robert Wright took the helm on May 21. Wright previously served as the CEO of Potbelly Corporation.
Wendy's also named former Potbelly executive Steve Cirulis as its chief financial officer and chief strategy officer on Tuesday. Wendy's noted that Wright and Cirulis helped spearhead a successful turnaround at Potbelly that saw its share price rise by over 500% during their tenure.
