Shares of the fast-casual dining company double after its initial public offering.
S-1 Filing / Via sec.gov
Noodles & Co., which just went public today, is a hit with investors so far — the company's shares doubled to $36.19 as of 12:50 p.m. (which would, incidentally, typically get you four meals at their restaurants).
The dining chain, which plants many of its locations near hungry college students in towns such as Evanston, Ill. Ann Arbor, Mich. Chapel Hill, N.C., and Columbia, Mo., is looking to expand from 343 locations to a whopping 2,500 in the next 15 to 20 years. (It's already more than doubled in the last six years.) It's certainly a step above ramen, with its restaurants offering a selection of 14 vegetables and six proteins, and dishes ranging from pad Thai to mac 'n' cheese, as per its S-1 filing.
The company, which made $300 million in sales for the year ended Jan. 1, plans to use proceeds from the IPO mostly to pay back loans and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Noodles & Co., now trading under the ticker NDLS, has a number of earnest reasons for why investors should be interested in its concept — and here are some of them:
According to a report commissioned by the chain, "Our customers skew slightly younger and more affluent than the general population, and according to a recent Gallup survey, this demographic spends more on dining than others."
...for the 12 months ended April 2, 2013. Noodles & Co. has added more beverages and appetizers and items such as "slow-braised naturally raised pork" in October 2012 to get consumers to spend more.