Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $54.00 to $65.40 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $73.36 to $77.76 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $48.84 to $61.40 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.20 to $61.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.16 to $67.38 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $64.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

NYSE CMG opened at $62.83 on Wednesday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a fifty-two week low of $35.37 and a fifty-two week high of $69.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.84, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.99.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $3,509,176.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 120,600 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,665.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $3,509,176.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 120,600 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,665.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 125,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.29, for a total transaction of $7,939,579.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 54,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,433,417.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 550,750 shares of company stock worth $35,023,769 over the last ninety days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.