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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Price/Sales Investor model based on the published strategy of Kenneth Fisher. This value strategy rewards stocks with low P/S ratios, long-term profit growth, strong free cash flow and consistent profit margins.

POTBELLY CORP (PBPB) is a small-cap growth stock in the Restaurants industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Kenneth Fisher changed from 50% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Potbelly Corporation operates primarily as a fast-casual restaurant. The Company owns and operates Potbelly Sandwich Shop concept in the United States. It also has domestic franchise operations of Potbelly Sandwich Shop concepts. Its shops are located in multiple types of neighborhoods and formats, including suburban, urban, central business districts, airports, and others. Its menu includes toasty hot sandwiches, signature salads, soups, chili, sides, freshly baked cookies, hand-dipped shakes and, in its breakfast locations, breakfast sandwiches. The Company operates approximately 424 shops in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Of these, the Company operates 345 shops and franchisees operates 79 shops. The Company-operated shops are located in various areas, such as Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Virginia, Kansas, District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of POTBELLY CORP

About Kenneth Fisher: The son of Philip Fisher, who is considered the "Father of Growth Investing", Kenneth Fisher is a money manager, bestselling author, and longtime Forbes columnist. The younger Fisher wowed Wall Street in the mid-1980s when his book Super Stocks first popularized the idea of using the price/sales ratio (PSR) as a means of identifying attractive stocks. According to his alma mater, Humboldt State University, Fisher is also one of the world's foremost experts on 19th century logging. Appropriately, Fisher's firm, Fisher Investments, is located in a lush forest preserve in Woodside, California, where the contrarian-minded Fisher says he and his employees can get away from Wall Street groupthink.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.