What happened Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) stock trailed a booming market last year by gaining 59% compared to a 29% spike in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shares mainly tracked the wider market for most of the year, then broke later on to nearly double the S&P's gain. Image source: Getty Images. So what The pizza delivery giant got the ball rolling in late August by announcing an aggressive turnaround plan after naming Rob Lynch as its new CEO. Investors quickly started seeing progress on that score, with third-quarter growth results edging into positive territory. Sure, the restaurant stock's 5% sales slump over the year's first three quarters translates into market share losses. But Papa John's third-quarter increase nearly matched Domino's (NYSE: DPZ) result while setting the company up for a return to growth perhaps as early as 2020. Now what Rival Domino's has been one of the market's biggest winners over the past decade, and that potential likely has investors excited about the prospects for Papa John's, should its recovery take hold. That's why shareholders will be watching comparable-store sales trends closely when the company announces its fourth-quarter results in late February. 10 stocks we like better than Papa John's InternationalWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Papa John's International wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source