The most crowded Restaurant stocks – UBS

Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and Wingstop (WING) were the most crowded longs within the restaurant stocks, according to data from UBS, as of Sept. 27.

On the other hand, the most crowded shorts within the sector were Kura Sushi USA (KRUS), Sweetgreen (SG), and Krispy Kreme (DNUT).

UBS analysts define “crowded longs” as a high percentage of eligible funds owning a stock, and “crowded shorts” as a high percentage of eligible funds shorting a stock.

The crowding score is based on prime brokerage data, stock loan data, 13F regulatory filings, and proprietary data. Also, “when evaluating risk, a high crowding score in either direction increases the upside/downside risk of a position,” analysts said.

The most crowded longs, ranked by their crowding score:

• Texas Roadhouse Inc. (TXRH) – Crowding score: 22.00
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) – Crowding score: 22.00
• Wingstop Inc. (WING) – Crowding score: 20.5
• Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (PLAY) – Crowding score: 10.0
• Potbelly Corp. (PBPB) – Crowding score: 7.4
• Brinker International Inc. (EAT) – Crowding score: 6.5
• Dine Brands Global Inc. (DIN) – Crowding score: 6.4
• Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (BLMN) – Crowding score: 4.3
• Denny’s Corp. (DENN) – Crowding score: 4.3
• Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) – Crowding score: 3.7

The most crowded shorts, ranked by their crowding score:

• Kura Sushi USA Inc. (KRUS) – Crowding score: -15.3
• Sweetgreen Inc. (SG) – Crowding score: -13.0
• Krispy Kreme Inc. (DNUT) – Crowding score: -7.3
• Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) – Crowding score: -6.6
• McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) – Crowding score: -5.7
• The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE) – Crowding score: -5.7
• Papa John’s International Inc. (PZZA) – Crowding score: -5.3
• First Watch Restaurant Group Inc. (FWRG) – Crowding score: -4.7
• Portillo’s Inc. (PTLO) – Crowding score: -4.6
• Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK) – Crowding score: -3.7