Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Chipotle’s price target from $39 to $40 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 29.7% upside from the stock’s quoted price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Chipotle has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 22 Buy ratings and 10 Holds, and an average price target of $43.87.
• Chipotle slightly beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.33 in EPS versus $0.32 expected and $3.35 billion in revenue, up 9.3% year over year; institutional investors own 91.3% of the stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 29.73% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.87.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $30.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,647,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,675,414. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52-week low of $28.03 and a 52-week high of $42.74. The firm has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.09 and its 200 day moving average is $33.49.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. Chipotle Mexican Grill's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1,827.7% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 11,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 11,368 shares during the period. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,214,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2,237.1% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 171,938 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,493,000 after acquiring an additional 164,581 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 407,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,008,000 after acquiring an additional 395,244 shares during the period. Finally, Finward Bancorp raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. Finward Bancorp now owns 14,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 7,483 shares during the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company that specializes in Mexican-inspired food made with a limited number of core ingredients. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas, salads and sides, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company also offers beverages, including soft drinks and other drinks, and allows customers to customize meals.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle operates company-owned restaurants under the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.