The Domino's share price stormed 38.3% higher and ended the month at $18.31 a piece, far outpacing the index gains over the same period.

What drove Domino's share price higher in October?

The main catalyst for the ASX 200 growth stock's share price hike throughout the month was media speculation that the fast-food pizza chain operator has a looming takeover offer from Bain Capital Specialty Finance Inc (NYSE: BCSF). 

Purportedly, Bain Capital valued the company at $4 billion. At the time, Domino's market cap was around $1.5 billion.

But, according to Domino's, the speculation is untrue. Domino's Pizza has denied the claims and said there has been no takeover discussion with Bain Capital.

In a statement to the ASX following the media report, the company said:

Domino's confirms that, as far as it is aware, it has not received any proposal from Bain Capital or had any communication with that organisation. Looking at the price and volume of Domino's security trading at or around and after the time the AFR Online article was released, it is clear that the change in price of Domino's securities and the increase in volume … all occurred after that article was published..

The AFR did a follow-up story the following day quoting Domino's executive chair, Jack Cowin, who said he was open to a deal, but only after he was able to repair the company's share price.

The question, now, is whether it's time to consider buying? Or have investors missed the boat?

What's next for the ASX 200 growth stock?

Domino's shares have some way to go before they've recuperated the losses shed over the past year. At the time of writing the shares are 2.01% lower and changing hands at $18.745. For the year they're a huge 40.68% lower.

Analysts are divided about the stock's potential too. According to TradingView data, out of 17 analysts, 6 have a buy or strong buy rating, 8 have a hold rating, and the other 3 have a sell or strong sell rating on the shares.

The projected share price varies significantly too. The maximum target price on the ASX 200 growth stock is $30.00, and the average is $17.82. Some even predict the shares will fall to $13.00 a piece. 

That represents a range of a potential 59.02% upside to a potential 31.07% downside for investors over the next 12 months, at the time of writing. 

Morgans has a buy rating and $18.00 price target on its shares and says the business is making positive steps to take significant costs out of the business. 

But Bell Potter Securities' Christopher Watt is one analyst with a sell recommendation on the shares. He explained that despite a retrace over the past year, the shares could have further to fall. 

The post This ASX 200 growth stock soared 38% in October! Time to consider buying? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the fast-food operator took off on Tuesday after the Australian Financial Review published a story claiming that private equity firm Bain Capital Specialty Finance Inc (NYSE: BCSF) was poised to lob a takeover bid for the company, valued at as much as $4 billion.

Given that Domino's valuation before the story broke was about $1.46 billion, there was plenty of room for the shares to jump, and jump they did, soaring 17.4% to $18.13 before the company asked that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

Nothing to see here

The company released a statement to the ASX at about 2pm on Tuesday, saying that as far as they were aware, no takeover bid was in the wings, sending the stock lower to close the day at $16.56, still well up on Friday's closing price of $15.45.

As the company said:

Domino's confirms that, as far as it is aware, it has not received any proposal from Bain Capital or had any communication with that organisation. Looking at the price and volume of Domino's security trading at or around and after the time the AFR Online article was released, it is clear that the change in price of Domino's securities and the increase in volume … all occurred after that article was published.

While Domino's flatly rejected the notion that Bain had made a bid, the company's shares rose again on Wednesday morning, up 4.6% to $17.32.

While the original AFR article was incorrect, the publication did a follow-up story published on their website on Wednesday, quoting Domino's executive chair, Jack Cowin, who said he was open to a deal, but only after he was able to repair the company's share price.

Turnaround story

Mr Cowin, who founded and still owns Hungry Jack's, stepped into the executive chair role at Domino's in July, when the company also announced that managing director Mark van Dyck would step down in December.

Mr Cowin said at the time the company had work to do turning itself around, and he would concentrate on righting the ship.

As he said:

We're taking action to make Domino's a leaner, more efficient business. That means reducing costs – and using those savings to support our franchise partners and invest in marketing that drives sales. We will share the rewards when we get it right – with customers, with partners, and with shareholders.

Domino's is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on 12 November, when Mr Cowin will stand for re-election.

The post No takeover, but Domino's shares continue to rise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

On Tuesday morning, the Australian Financial Review reported that private equity firm Bain Capital Specialty Finance Inc (NYSE: BCSF) was considering a bid for the company worth as much as $4 billion.

At the close of trade on Monday, Domino's was valued at just $1.46 billion, implying a takeover premium of well over 100% should the AFR speculation be correct.

Struggling to compete

Domino's shares have been out of favour recently, trading near their 12-month lows of $13.11 following a lacklustre profit result in August.

At that time, the company reported full-year sales revenue of $4.15 billion, down 0.9%, and earnings of $198.1 million, down 4.6%.

Domino's in July announced that its managing director, Mark van Dyck, would step down in December, while major shareholder and the founder and owner of Hungry Jack's, Jack Cowin, would move into the executive chair role.

Mr Cowin also founded KFC in Australia and has over five decades of experience in the fast-food business in Australia.

Back to the basics

Mr Cowin said at the time of the results announcement in August that the company was concentrating on getting the fundamentals right.

We're taking action to make Domino's a leaner, more efficient business. That means reducing costs – and using those savings to support our franchise partners and invest in marketing that drives sales. We will share the rewards when we get it right – with customers, with partners, and with shareholders.

Mr Cowin said customer expectations had not changed – they wanted "great food, delivered fast, at a fair price''.

That's where we're focused. Product. Service. Image. Value.

Domino's shares were paused from trade on Tuesday morning after the article was published on the AFR website.

The shares last changed hands for $18.13, up 17.4%. This is well below the 12-month high for the shares of $36.68.

The Australian was also reporting on the deal on Tuesday, saying Bain Capital was a minority shareholder in the publicly-listed US Group Domino's Inc.

Bain Capital has runs on the board in Australia, buying airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VGN) in 2020 after its creditors agreed to a $3.5 billion deal.

Virgin was subsequently relisted on the ASX on June 24, and is currently valued at $2.67 billion.

Domino's is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on 12 November, when Mr Cowin will stand for re-election.

The post Domino's shares rocket higher on takeover speculation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.