Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Falls 6.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Chipotle shares fell 6.3% to approximately $30.32, with trading volume 82% below the average daily level.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 33 firms and an average price target of $43.91, despite some recent target reductions.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.33 EPS and $3.35 billion in revenue, while institutional investors own 91.3% of the stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) shares were down 6.3% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $30.84 and last traded at $30.3160. 3,124,482 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 17,299,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CMG. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down from $44.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.91.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $38.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $34.79 and its 200-day moving average is $33.61.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $765,586.25. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at about $4,417,475,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 101,688,010 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,762,457,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843,222 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,294,212 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,675,895,000 after purchasing an additional 6,796,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,478,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $527,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,762 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,062,158 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $520,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,473,120 shares during the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is 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.