Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Price Up 6.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Chipotle shares rose 6.3% to about $32.71, although trading volume was roughly 94% below the average session level.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 23 Buy ratings and 10 Holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average price target is $43.91.
• Chipotle slightly beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.33 in EPS and $3.35 billion in revenue, up 9.3% year over year. Institutional investors own a substantial 91.3% of the company, while an insider recently sold shares.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) traded up 6.3% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $31.16 and last traded at $32.7060. Approximately 963,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 17,313,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.50 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.91.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 6.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $34.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 directly owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $765,586.25. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,417,475,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,478,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $527,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,762 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 23.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,980,192 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $383,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,087 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 86.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,973,752 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $383,280,000 after purchasing an additional 5,541,385 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 30.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,845,627 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $368,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541,795 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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