The upgrade was part of a larger set of positive comments aimed at several key players in the restaurant industry, with BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI), Dave & Buster's (NASDAQ: PLAY), and Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) also getting upgrades. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was down slightly shortly after noon EDT, but it had bounced back considerably from larger losses earlier in the session. Jefferies is convinced that concerns about cost inflation and the potential impact of the delta variant of COVID-19 have led to an overreaction in selling off restaurant stocks.