UPDATE: Wedbush Upgrades Wendy's to Outperform, Raises PT

In a report published earlier today, Wedbush Securities Inc. upgraded its rating on the Wendy's Company

from Neutral to Outperform, and slightly raised its price target from $5.00 to $5.50. Wedbush went on to say “Recent positive Q2 comp preannouncement and reiterated 2012 EBITDA guidance address near-term concerns that Wendy's may not participate in improving QSR-burger trends. We believe Wendy's 6/27 positive Q2 SSS growth preannouncement of 3% vs. consensus of 1.5% and our 2.0% expectation is an indication that Wendy's is positioned to benefit from category tailwinds, addressing our concern that near-term strategic flux could jeopardize the company's participation in the category's recovery in Q2.” The Wendy's Company closed yesterday at $4.58.