While IHOP Corp. shares gained on the company’s strong second quarter earnings, a disgruntled Applebee’s investor caused some concern when he announced that IHOP’s $2.1 billion price tag for the restaurant chain was too low.

IHOP reported second quarter net income of $14 million (82 cents per share), a 37 percent increase from $10 million (56 cents) for the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking 59 cents per share.

Chairman and Chief Executive Julia A. Stewart said the company drove sales through new restaurant openings. Same-store sales increased 2.5 percent for the quarter.

Sales for the Los Angeles-based restaurant chain owner and operator climbed 6 percent to $90 million, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $87 million.

IHOP said it remains comfortable with existing guidance for 2007 as it relates to its IHOP business, but added that it does not account for the effect of the Applebee’s acquisition on results.

Separately, Applebee’s International Inc. shareholder Sardar Biglari said in a statement that he plans to vote against the IHOP acquisition because he believes the price isn’t high enough. Biglari, the chief executive of Lion Fund LP and Western Sizzlin Corp., said Applebee’s board “made a grave mistake in agreeing to an undervalued bid for the entire company.”

Biglari owns just more than 1 million shares in Applebee’s.

Shares in IHOP were up 89 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $65.91 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.