Traders Purchase Large Volume of Chipotle Mexican Grill Call Options (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 83,727 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,049% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,286 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.80 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.16 to $67.38 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.02.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 98.0 %

Shares of NYSE CMG opened at $65.85 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.06. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52-week low of $35.37 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 55.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 125,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.29, for a total value of $7,939,579.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,433,417.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total value of $3,166,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,362,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,273,772.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 125,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.29, for a total value of $7,939,579.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,433,417.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 550,750 shares of company stock valued at $35,023,769. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Railway Pension Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,163,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 13,490 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,212,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.1% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,864,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,427,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 166.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

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.