Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $898,537.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,732.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,177,309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,264,109,000 after purchasing an additional 19,759,754 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,209.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,935,669 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $685,128,000 after acquiring an additional 10,729,706 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,930.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,310,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $645,930,000 after acquiring an additional 10,139,174 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 76,617.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,904,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,945,000 after acquiring an additional 5,897,255 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,565.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,078,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,916 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CMG shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CMG opened at $60.30 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a twelve month low of $44.08 and a twelve month high of $69.26. The company has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.97 and a 200 day moving average of $80.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.