Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $72.00 to $74.00. The stock had previously closed at $60.94, but opened at $62.99. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill shares last traded at $63.37, with a volume of 3,295,363 shares trading hands.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on CMG. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total transaction of $100,920.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,333.80. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $898,537.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,290 shares of company stock worth $1,866,023. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 13,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.6% during the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 31,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.4% in the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.7% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $86.35 billion, a PE ratio of 56.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.07.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.