Analyst: This Coffee Chain is "Underappreciated"

Puts have been hot on outperforming DNKN lately

Shares of donut and coffee chain Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) are up 3% at $81.92 this morning, fresh off an out-of-the-gate record high of $83.22, after scoring an impressive bull note from Wedbush. Specifically, the analyst handed over an upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral," and hiked their price target on DNKN stock to $92 from $76. The brokerage firm said that Dunkin's same-store sales are at an inflection point, and are "underappreciated" by Wall Street.

Supporting Wedbush's claim is Dunkin stock's recent uphill climb on the charts. Less than two weeks ago -- on Wednesday, June 12 -- the shares touched a previous record high of $81.40. DNKN stock has added nearly 10% so far in June, following a bounce off its 80-day moving average. Year-to-date, the security has added 27%.

Analysts were heavily bearish toward the coffee stock coming into today, with 17 of 20issuing a tepid "hold" rating. Further, the equity's average 12-month price target of $76.83 comes in slightly below current trading levels. As such, DNKN shares could score additional upgrades and price-target hikes.

Albeit amid low absolute volume, Dunkin puts have been preferred over calls lately. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), DNKN sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.52, ranking in the 84th annual percentile. In other words, puts have been purchased over calls at a faster-than-usual clip in the past two weeks. An exodus of option bears could also be a boon for the donut stock.