Why Just Eat Takeaway Stock Jumped on Friday

What happened

Shareholders of Just Eat Takeaway.com (NASDAQ:GRUB) trounced the S&P 500 on Friday as the stock jumped 14% by 2:45 p.m. ET today, compared to a 0.4% drop in the wider market. The rally only erased a small portion of recent losses for investors who own the food delivery specialist, which remains lower by 35% so far in 2022.

Friday's hike was sparked by speculation that the company might be an acquisition target.

So what

Just Eat Takeaway has been the subject of these types of rumors in the past, and Friday's speculation didn't seem to be attached to anything more concrete than previous chatter. The company hasn't made any official comments suggesting that it is exploring options like taking itself private.

Nevertheless, rumors speculating that Just Eat Takeaway may be talking with a larger peer like Uber made for a volatile trading day on Friday.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

Unless there's anything firm to back up these suggestions, they're just rumors and shouldn't drive investors' decisions. You're better off following business trends for signs that the stock is a good investment.

Lately, those signs have been hard to find, as new customer growth is slowing and profitability remains a challenge. The food delivery niche is extremely competitive, with large restaurant chains, retailers, and third-party aggregators -- all with incentives to cut prices in hopes of winning market share.

It might make sense in that environment for several companies to merge so that they can achieve better economies of scale. But it's not clear that a bigger sales footprint would make Just Eat Takeaway a more attractive buy for investors today.

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Demitri Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.