StockNews.com Upgrades Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) to Buy

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CMG. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $73.36 to $77.76 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $48.00 to $57.30 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.72 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,600.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.02.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 98.0 %

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock traded down $3,217.19 on Wednesday, hitting $65.85. 27,209,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,180,815. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.06. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52 week low of $35.37 and a 52 week high of $69.26. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 1.41, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 55.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total transaction of $3,166,010.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,362,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,273,772.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total value of $3,166,010.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,362,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,273,772.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total transaction of $20,409,003.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,133,450 shares in the company, valued at $72,221,620.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 550,750 shares of company stock valued at $35,023,769 over the last ninety days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,732,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,942,665,000 after acquiring an additional 25,238 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,125,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,575,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,541 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 399,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $732,552,000 after acquiring an additional 13,482 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 41.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 397,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $727,570,000 after acquiring an additional 116,723 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter worth about $805,529,000. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.