Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know

What Happened?

Shares of chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) jumped 3% in the afternoon session after Grupo Santander upgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'neutral'. 

The upgrade from the financial group signaled a more positive outlook on the company's shares. Despite the improved rating, Grupo Santander slightly lowered its price target on the stock to $56 from $57. The upgrade itself suggested the analyst firm believed the stock would perform better than its peers or the broader market, which often leads to increased investor interest and buying activity.

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $39.61, up 3.1% from previous close.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Pilgrim's Pride’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 7 months ago when the stock dropped 14.8% on the news that the company reported weak first quarter 2025 results which included an EBITDA miss and gross margin falling short of Wall Street's estimates. Sales and earnings also missed analysts' estimates. Overall, this was a weaker quarter.

Pilgrim's Pride is down 16.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $39.61 per share, it is trading 29.6% below its 52-week high of $56.26 from March 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Pilgrim's Pride’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,922.

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