Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,250,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the November 30th total of 25,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

CMG opened at $60.30 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $44.08 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 185,792 shares in the company, valued at $12,078,337.92. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $898,537.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at $26,115,436.20. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMG. Shellback Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 125,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122,500 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,897.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 48,942 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 48,126 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the third quarter valued at $3,256,000. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 318.5% in the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 17,160 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 13,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 3rd quarter worth $758,000. Hedge funds and other 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.