Papa John's International Inc. (PZZA)

I have sold my entire long position at about $51 based on the diminished reward v. risk. I would reestablish the long on weakness.

I placed Papa John's on my Best Ideas Buy List in August at under $39. The shares are now trading +$3 to $49/share on the possible "going private" report by CNBC. Here is my thesis as expressed less than two months ago: Buying A Falling Knife - It's...

CNBC is reporting that John Schnattner, Papa John's founder, is reaching out to private equity companies to buyback PZZA! The shares are gapping higher. I mentioned this possibility as recently as yesterday in this post: Inspire Brands Noshes on Son...

"Music is the soundtrack of life." - Dick Clark After some early buying, stocks closed near their lows today. FANG pulled off a revival led by a robust rise in Amazon and a good move in Google . Chip stocks got slammed again. Autos were bludgeoned.....

* Papa Johns may be the next restaurant stock to be acquired This morning, Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings has announced the acquisition of Sonic .  The proposed deal is being done at about 15.5x 12-month trailing...

Here is a list of the positions I own (long and short) that have been mentioned in my Diary: Longs: puts, large, small, , small, , large, , small, , , small, large, calls, TWTR large, small Shorts: SPY calls, SPY Large, , small, tagends, small, smal...

My three largest individual longs are , and .

Here is a list of the positions I own (long and short) that have been mentioned in my Diary: Longs: puts, large, small,  , small, , , large, , small, small, small, small, large, large, small. Shorts: SPY calls, SPY large, large, small, tagends, smal...

In response to several e-mail questions I am not planning to sell any at current levels. Papa Johns was put on my Best Ideas List under $39 three weeks ago - now trading at $46.65.

I don't know this to be true but high above the Alps my Gnome continues to hear vague rumors of a private equity takeout of Papa John's . PZZA was recently placed on my Best Ideas List at under $39 and is trading at a multi-week high of $45.60 now.

In the "absence of sellers," a number of Best Ideas List members are breaking out this morning: , , and .

Papa John's spiking, and I'm hearing vague takeover rumors.

Papa John's continues to make headway (with another +3% advance). Assuming the markets are stable I expect a "5" handle by year's end. PZZA is trading at $43.80 and was placed on my Best Ideas List last week at $48.95.

* I am Staying Bearish Based on the Notion That Upside Reward Is Dwarfed by Downside Market Risk * But I Will Trade Opportunistically in a New Regime of Volatility * Regardless of Market View, I Will Always Be on the Hunt for Long Ideas and Will Pro...

Here is my buy list of stocks that I plan to aggressively buy in a more sizable market correction: , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .

*Not eventful The key feature today was the breakout to the upside in retail stocks - and made multi point moves. (Both are on the Best Ideas List). Interest rates rose modestly, crude oil dipped and gold had a small rise. FANG has been reduced to G...

*Not eventful The key feature today was the breakout to the upside in retail stocks - and made multi point moves. (Both are on the Best Ideas List). Interest rates rose modestly, crude oil dipped and gold had a small rise. FANG has been reduced to G...

The New York Post is carrying a story today that Major League Baseball teams are slowly returning to their partnership with Papa John's. shares up another +$1 after being $2 higher yesterday. Trading at $42.80, the shares were placed on my Best Idea...

Seeking Alpha on (Hat tip to subscriber Neil "The Real Deal")

* I have taken a large sized slice of .  Papa John's shares are trading higher today on talks of franchise royalty relief. My understanding is that the cost was already built into last week's projections (part of the $50 million nonrecurring charges...

During the week I initiated a trading long rental in  Kraft Heinz Co. , traded (in and out) of ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF , expanded my large SPDR S&P 500 ETF short, reestablished my Disney short, initiated a long buy (for an investment) in Pap...

and (+$2.65) are the world's fair. And now (+$1.75) is joining in. I have been adding to this name after weakness following a good 2Q2018: Breaking Up Is Not So Hard to Do! Aug 6, 2018 ' 11:34 AM EDT Stock quotes in this article: DWDP Don't take you...

I added to my positions in Kraft Heinz and Papa John's this afternoon. Here is my thesis, discussed yesterday, on PZZA. KHC is a trading long rental and PZZA is a speculative investment.

I'm between doctor meetings... Looks like an inside day thus far with limited price movement. and are upside standouts.