Why I Closed My Panera Bread Position

I closed my (small) position in Panera Bread (PNRA) yesterday.

This is an interesting story. The company is growing fast, has no debt (amazing for a restaurant chain) and has great management. The company had a great quarter, raising some prices when people moved from full service restaurants to discounters.

Why am I selling it then? The answer is simple: I'm selling stock, not a company. This stock can move 20% up or down on no news at all. There are some reasons for that: sometimes institutional investors buy or sell big positions. Big short interest (currently about 13%) adds to volatility.

In short, this stock is better as a trade than as investment. I might enter a position again at a lower level.

Full disclosure: At the time of publication, the author did not have any positions in PNRA. Positions can change any time.