Papa John's Increases Stock Buy-back

HEARD ON THE STREET - Could this be a leading indicator that investors are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the restaurant sector? Papa John's announcement that it will increase the purchase back of its stocks suggests that its board believes the stock is undervalued.

Papa John’s International, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase to $775 million in the amount of the company’s common stock that may be repurchased by the company from time to time through December 31, 2009. This represents a $50 million increase in the previously authorized amount, and includes the authorization to purchase shares in both the open market and private transactions, and pursuant to a 10b5-1 trading plan.

The company announced that to date it has repurchased $705.1 million of its stock since the inception of the repurchase program in 1999. As of June 29, 2008, the company had approximately 28.7 million shares of common stock outstanding on a fully diluted basis (approximately 28.1 million actual shares outstanding).