El Pollo Going LoCo After Q2 Report

Joel Elconin is the co-host of Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show.

El Pollo LoCo Holdings Inc LOCO shares were trading sharply lower by $3.61 (19 percent) at $14.85 in Friday's session. The issue is being punished after its Q2 earnings report that had a small beat for adjusted EPS ($0.19 vs. $0.18 estimates), but missed for sales ($86.9 million vs. $93 million). In addition, the company sees FY2015 adjusted EPS at $0.67-$0.71 vs. $0.70 estimates.

El Pollo LoCo debuted in July 2014 and bottomed on its first day of trading at $18.48. The following month it peaked at $41.70 before going into a tailspin.

On Wednesday, it made a new all-time low at $17.51 and bounced back to end Thursday's session at $18.46. The disappointing Q2 report instigated a lower open ($14.81 vs. Thursday's close of $18.36). So far, the issue has not violated its range from the first 15 minutes of trading ($14.62 to $15.35).

Today's route is taking place on much higher than average volume. So far 5.3 million shares have changed hands compared to its 20-day average of 1 million shares.