Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Upgraded at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Chipotle Mexican Grill was upgraded to an "overweight" rating by Piper Sandler, with a new price target of $50.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.12% from its previous close.
• The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.32, while its revenue was $3.06 billion, slightly below the forecast of $3.11 billion.
• Analysts have varied ratings on the stock, with eight analysts rating it "hold," twenty assigning it a "buy," and one giving a "strong buy," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock, down from their previous price target of $53.00. Piper Sandler's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.02% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CMG. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.61.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:CMG traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.10. 22,806,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,155,728. The firm has a market cap of $57.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a twelve month low of $41.18 and a twelve month high of $66.74. The stock's 50-day moving average is $50.73 and its 200-day moving average is $51.35.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 43.50%. Chipotle Mexican Grill's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,457,805.50. This represents a 50.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,457,125 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,932,118,000 after buying an additional 993,798 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,827,332 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,853,302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027,016 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 33,111,508 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,859,211,000 after purchasing an additional 606,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,659,508 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,657,193,000 after buying an additional 325,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,257,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,193,618,000 after purchasing an additional 595,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company's stock.

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.