BUCA owns and operates 51 full service, dinner only restaurants under the name BUCA di BEPPO, offering immigrant Southern Italian cuisine in a fun, energetic atmosphere that parodies the decor and ambiance of post-War Italian/American eateries. For the 39 weeks ended 9/24/00, sales rose 85% to $90M. Net income applic. to Common before extra. item totalled $3.9M vs. a loss of $1.4M. Results reflect the addition of new restaurants.

May 24, 2001

The love affair with restaurant stocks started in about August of last year and has shown no signs of letting up. Investors have been snatching up the casual dinning issues faster than deserts at an all you can eat buffet. As of April 1, 2001, Buca ran 58 restaurants under the name of BUCA di BEPPO. These eateries specialize in Southern Italian fare combined with a relaxed atmosphere. They are known for their large portions and amicable wait staff. For the 13 weeks ended April 1, 2001, sales increased 47% over the same period a year ago. The increase in sales was due to higher average checks and to the impact of new restaurants. Turning to the chart, BUCA notched a new high today on good volume of 560,000 shares. The stock's three-month average is 320,000 shares. Speaking of volume, we also noticed that volume started to spike in mid April, a sure sign that mutual funds and institutions are on the prowl. Looking at our favorite indicators, BUCA's MACD is positive and OBV is getting back towards its high. Traders might want to consider opening a new position in BUCA if the stock can either bounce off support at $24 or close above today's closing price of $25.15 on volume of at least 350,000 shares. Our initial stop is set at support of $21.30.

Picked on May 24th @ $25.15
Change Since Picked 0.00
Stop Loss @ $21.30

May 31, 2001

BUCA - Buca, Inc. $21.80 -3.35 (-2.99)

BUCA also succumbed to the downdraft in restaurant stocks. The stock fell $3.35 on heavy volume of 725,000 shares. We avoided being stopped out of this play by only $0.30. The good times for restaurant stocks were bound to come to an end, but we never expected such an overreaction to news of a slowdown in visitor traffic for May. BUCA has recovered from big down days before, but since we are so close to our stop, we don't hold out much hope for this casual dinning play. Traders should hold off on entering BUCA until it can prove that it has stabilized.

Picked on May 24th @ $25.15
Change Since Picked -3.35
Stop Loss @ $21.30

May 29, 2001

BUCA continues to trade in a tight range around the $25 level. Although, with today's consumer confidence number coming in on the high side, restaurant stocks might continue to get a boost higher. This is because as consumers feel more confident about their economic situations, they tend to indulge more in life's little extras; like dining out. Turning to BUCA's chart, we can see that the stock has found good support near the 05/11/01 peak of $24.20. Traders interested in starting new positions in BUCA should look to do so if BUCA can close above Thursday's closing high of $25.15 on volume of at least 350-400,000 shares traded. We are keeping our stops at $21.30 in case BUCA rolls over. We also note that volume has been on the low side for the past two trading sessions. BUCA's three-month average daily volume is 330,000 shares and today it did only 150,000. We need volume to pick up above 500,000 in order for resistance at $25.25 to be taken out. Traders wanting to enter BUCA on a momentum move could look to do so on a close above $25.25 accompanied by volume of at least 500,000 shares.

Picked on May 24th @ $25.15
Change Since Picked -0.15
Stop Loss @ $21.30

May 27, 2001

BUCA eased off its all time high on Friday. However, it did so on volume of only 64,000 shares. This volume is low enough to just about disregard Friday's move entirely. The only technical reading of substance that we can gain by Friday's action was that Thursday's record high close of $25.15 did serve as some resistance. We won't jump to any conclusions, however, until next week's trading commences on Tuesday. We will note that most restaurant and leisure stocks had strong bids on Friday. Although, this is not surprising either, as these stocks have been strong all month. Traders interested in starting new positions in BUCA should look to do so if BUCA can close above Thursday's closing high of $25.15 on volume of at least 350-400,000 shares traded. We are keeping our stops at $21.30 in case BUCA serves up a bad meatball.

Picked on May 24th @ $25.15
Change Since Picked -0.36
Stop Loss @ $21.30