Sunday's winner: wings, beer and pizza

A trader laughs while working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. The Dow edged higher Thursday, keeping the index on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)*
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - In this May 20, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, during their meeting at the NATO Summit in Chicago. The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon's view that thousands of troops may be needed to keep a lid on al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces. Karzai is scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Friday. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
FILE - In this July 14, 2011, file photo, U.S. soldiers board a U.S. military plane, as they leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon's view that thousands of troops may be needed to keep a lid on al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces.(AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)
In this undated photo taken by the International Red Cross and provided by the family of Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani, Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani poses for a photo at Guantanamo Bay prison at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Rahim who is being held with the most significant terrorism suspects in U.S. custody has apparently gained extensive knowledge of western pop culture in Guantanamo's Camp 7: the top secret prison-within-a-prison in Guantanamo Bay. Nearly five years ago, Rahim became the last prisoner sent to Guantanamo. He was accused of helping Osama bin Laden elude capture. (AP Photo/International Red Cross via Rahim family)
This Oct. 8, 2012 photo taken by the International Red Cross and provided by the family of Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani, shows Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani at Guantanamo Bay prison at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Rahim who is being held with the most significant terrorism suspects in U.S. custody has apparently gained extensive knowledge of western pop culture in Guantanamo's Camp 7: the top secret prison-within-a-prison in Guantanamo Bay. Nearly five years ago, Rahim became the last prisoner sent to Guantanamo. He was accused of helping Osama bin Laden elude capture. (AP Photo/International Red Cross via Rahim family)
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2011, file photo, villagers stand near wreckage of a Pakistani air force fighter jet that crashed in Attock near Islamabad, Pakistan. Over a dozen Pakistani air force planes have crashed in roughly the past 18 months, raising concerns about the health of an aging fleet that officials are struggling to upgrade because of a lack of funds. A significant number of the air force’s combat aircraft are nearly half a century old and have been called on in recent years to help the army fight a domestic Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people. This has added to the strain on a force that has historically focused on countering the threat from Pakistan’s neighbor and archenemy, India. (AP Photo/Ghulam Shabbir, File)
FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, a Pakistan air force official, right, takes photographs of the wreckage of a plane which crashed in Nowshera, Pakistan. Over a dozen Pakistani air force planes have crashed in roughly the past 18 months, raising concerns about the health of an aging fleet that officials are struggling to upgrade because of a lack of funds. A significant number of the air force’s combat aircraft are nearly half a century old and have been called on in recent years to help the army fight a domestic Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people. This has added to the strain on a force that has historically focused on countering the threat from Pakistan’s neighbor and archenemy, India. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad, File)

A trader laughs while working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. The Dow edged higher Thursday, keeping the index on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)*

A trader laughs while working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. The Dow edged higher Thursday, keeping the index on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)*
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - In this May 20, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, during their meeting at the NATO Summit in Chicago. The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon's view that thousands of troops may be needed to keep a lid on al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces. Karzai is scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Friday. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
FILE - In this July 14, 2011, file photo, U.S. soldiers board a U.S. military plane, as they leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon's view that thousands of troops may be needed to keep a lid on al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces.(AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)
In this undated photo taken by the International Red Cross and provided by the family of Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani, Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani poses for a photo at Guantanamo Bay prison at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Rahim who is being held with the most significant terrorism suspects in U.S. custody has apparently gained extensive knowledge of western pop culture in Guantanamo's Camp 7: the top secret prison-within-a-prison in Guantanamo Bay. Nearly five years ago, Rahim became the last prisoner sent to Guantanamo. He was accused of helping Osama bin Laden elude capture. (AP Photo/International Red Cross via Rahim family)
This Oct. 8, 2012 photo taken by the International Red Cross and provided by the family of Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani, shows Muhammed Rahim al-Afghani at Guantanamo Bay prison at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Rahim who is being held with the most significant terrorism suspects in U.S. custody has apparently gained extensive knowledge of western pop culture in Guantanamo's Camp 7: the top secret prison-within-a-prison in Guantanamo Bay. Nearly five years ago, Rahim became the last prisoner sent to Guantanamo. He was accused of helping Osama bin Laden elude capture. (AP Photo/International Red Cross via Rahim family)
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2011, file photo, villagers stand near wreckage of a Pakistani air force fighter jet that crashed in Attock near Islamabad, Pakistan. Over a dozen Pakistani air force planes have crashed in roughly the past 18 months, raising concerns about the health of an aging fleet that officials are struggling to upgrade because of a lack of funds. A significant number of the air force’s combat aircraft are nearly half a century old and have been called on in recent years to help the army fight a domestic Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people. This has added to the strain on a force that has historically focused on countering the threat from Pakistan’s neighbor and archenemy, India. (AP Photo/Ghulam Shabbir, File)
FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, a Pakistan air force official, right, takes photographs of the wreckage of a plane which crashed in Nowshera, Pakistan. Over a dozen Pakistani air force planes have crashed in roughly the past 18 months, raising concerns about the health of an aging fleet that officials are struggling to upgrade because of a lack of funds. A significant number of the air force’s combat aircraft are nearly half a century old and have been called on in recent years to help the army fight a domestic Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people. This has added to the strain on a force that has historically focused on countering the threat from Pakistan’s neighbor and archenemy, India. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad, File)

Sunday's winner: wings, beer and pizza

Print Page Updated: 07:30:41 PM, Fri 01 February 2013

Football fans may be placing their bets on their favorite team, but investors are making a few Super Bowl-related bets themselves.

Shares of a number of pizza, chicken wing and beer makers rose Friday ahead of the big game, an annual festival of gluttony that is celebrated by fans and non-fans alike.

More than 1.23 billion portions of wings will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend, according to the National Chicken Council.

The restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. was upgraded Friday by KeyBanc Capital Markets. Analyst Christopher O'Cull gave the restaurant chain a "Buy" rating with an $85 price target, saying that the company's stock makes an attractive investment after a recent price drop. He said Buffalo Wild Wings said its stock trades at a significant discount compared to the rest of the casual dining sector, despite its above-average growth rate and significant growth potential.

Buffalo Wild Wing shares increased $2.56, more than 3 percent, to $76.11 by early afternoon. Its stock had fallen about 17 percent since October, when it issued a disappointing third-quarter earnings report.

And what better to wash down a dozen wings than with a frosty brew. Not many better ways, according to figures compiled by the Nielsen ratings company.

The volume of cases of beer scored in the two weeks before the big game soar to more than 49 million.

Despite what could be a huge legal setback on Thursday, shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev jumped in trading Friday.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev's proposed $20.1 billion purchase of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which would unite the ownership of popular beers like Budweiser and Corona. The government said the deal could lead to higher beer prices in the U.S. because it would substantially reduce competition in the domestic beer market, particularly in 26 metropolitan areas. It said the merged firm would control nearly half the beer sales in the U.S. In response, Anheuser-Busch InBev promised a court fight to preserve its deal.

The company's shares increased $3.04, more than 3 percent, to $91.64, nearing the top of its 52-week trading range.

Investors were also craving pizza stocks.

Domino's Pizza Inc.'s shares increased $1.20, nearly 3 percent, to $47.77. And Papa John's International Inc.'s shares increased 42 cents to $456.52.

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