Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to Strong-Buy Rating

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on DRVN. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Driven Brands in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Driven Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Driven Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of Driven Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Driven Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Driven Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ DRVN opened at $12.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. Driven Brands has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $19.74. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of -9.98 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott L. O’melia sold 46,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 326,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,231,104. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Driven Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Driven Brands by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 216,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,800,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Driven Brands by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Driven Brands by 2.7% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Driven Brands by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 71,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Driven Brands by 82.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Driven Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Driven Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical/speculative rebound — After the recent steep decline of roughly 39%, DRVN has drawn aggressive intraday buying and elevated volume, producing a short‑term bounce as some investors view the pullback as a buying opportunity. This kind of momentum/mean‑reversion trading can drive a rally even amid negative fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data reported for late March shows essentially zero short interest/days‑to‑cover in several feeds (likely a data or reporting anomaly). If accurate, very low short interest would reduce the risk of additional short‑selling pressure; if erroneous, it may simply reflect noisy data. (Multiple short‑interest entries in the feed show 0 shares/days‑to‑cover = 0.0.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance‑sheet/valuation context — DRVN trades with a negative P/E (losses), elevated debt‑to‑equity (~2.44), and sits below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages; these factors keep the stock risky for longer‑term investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑law firms have filed or are soliciting plaintiffs in class actions alleging securities fraud and pervasive accounting/internal control failures after Driven Brands disclosed that prior financials are unreliable. This litigation exposure is a significant overhang and likely explains much of the recent volatility and previous large drop. Pomerantz investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile plaintiff firms (Hagens Berman, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, Rosen, Faruqi, Scott+Scott, others) are actively notifying investors and pursuing lead plaintiff roles; coverage of these actions emphasizes an ~$800M market‑cap wipeout and the company’s admission of material accounting errors, which could lead to further reputational, financial and remediation costs. PR Newswire: stock drop & class action notice

Driven Brands Company Profile

Driven Brands Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: DRVN) is a leading North American provider of automotive aftermarket services, operating through a network of franchised and company-owned locations. The company’s platform encompasses a diverse portfolio of car care and maintenance brands, including Meineke Car Care Centers, Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, Take 5 Oil Change, and Carstar Collision Repair. Driven Brands delivers a full range of services from routine maintenance and oil changes to collision repair, paint protection, and vehicle customization.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Driven Brands serves both individual consumers and commercial clients across the United States and Canada.