UPDATE: Longbow Analyst Sees 16% Downside for Panera Shares

Shares of

are down 2.3 percent to $164.24 after Longbow Research downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform and announced a $138 price target. Analyst Alton Stump believes the stock is trading a lofty price to earnings multiple at 24.4, and a 20x multiple is “an appropriate forward earnings multiple in light of decelerating same-store traffic and pricing/mix trends and lack of earnings visibility through at least the end of 2015.” The lowered first quarter 2014 earnings per share estimate from $1.54 to $1.50 to reflect “greater margin pressure amidst higher internal spending.”