Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Stephens lowered their price target on the stock from $61.00 to $60.00. The stock had previously closed at $59.02, but opened at $56.02. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill shares last traded at $56.19, with a volume of 2,391,802 shares.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cfra raised shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $73.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1,087.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,712,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $271,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315,983 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,396,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 674.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,122,778 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $122,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848,625 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,969,776 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $171,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,172 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,421,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $818,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394,270 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 52.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.84.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current 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.