Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Shares Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) were up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $2,900.00 to $3,200.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill traded as high as $2,946.86 and last traded at $2,942.33. Approximately 160,565 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 273,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,936.63.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CMG. Barclays raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,246.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,900.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,225.00 to $2,525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,900.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,750.00 to $3,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,759.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total transaction of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,071,093.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total value of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,071,093.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 750 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,608.51, for a total value of $1,956,382.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,271 shares in the company, valued at $97,221,776.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,793 shares of company stock worth $18,321,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 79.5% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 777 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,778.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,378.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 65.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill are scheduled to split before the market opens on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, June 25th.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.73 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.