Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro reiterated a Strong Buy score and $55 per share value goal on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY) in a notice to purchasers Monday forward of the corporate’s F3Q22 earnings launch scheduled for December 6.

Vaccaro stated the agency believes the inventory is undervalued, whereas they see the corporate reporting a stable third quarter and upside in fiscal This fall.

“Expect strong F3Q comps (D&B +15%) and see upside to F4Q consensus sales (RJE $549M vs. consensus $531M). Our analysis of third party traffic data supports our F3Q comp estimate (assumes August spread held for rest of quarter), while QTD trends in November appear to be in a similar range despite lapping more difficult multi-year comparisons (likely helped by return of Eat n’ Play promotion),” the analyst wrote.

Raymond James additionally sees PLAY’s adjusted EBITDA margins recovering and exceeding 2019 ranges by ~200 bp.

“[We] Believe PLAY remains materially undervalued with a FY23 EV/EBITDA in the mid-5s, which does not seem consistent with the company’s strong margin profile (mid-teens EBIT margins) and high single-digit % unit growth exiting the pandemic,” the analyst added.

Dave & Buster’s shares rose nearly 2% in Monday’s session. So far, in 2022, the inventory is up 2%.

By Sam Boughedda