Restaurant stocks slid on Wednesday after Wendy’s Co. said that sales were soft in April, causing concern among investors that demand may be slowing across the fast-food industry.

Wendy’s shares fell as much as 9.1 percent to $10.16 after the company, which reported earnings Wednesday morning, said that same-store sales in the second quarter would grow less than its 3 percent target for the full-year. It was the biggest drop in Wendy’s shares since November 2013. Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc., Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc., Jamba Inc., Sonic Corp., Shake Shack Inc., Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. and Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International Inc. each slipped more than 3 percent.

Fast-food stocks have been a “place to hide” for investors in recent months, and comments from Wendy’s and other restaurant-executives about a weak April led to today’s selloff, said Will Slabaugh, an analyst at Stephens Inc.

“A decent amount of money has plowed into these stocks over the last few months, and now we heard that things might not be as rosy as we thought,” he said. “There’s been a bit of a run to the exits.”