Chipotle Mexican Grill Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 101,138 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 130% compared to the typical volume of 43,886 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.10.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMG traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.99. 6,685,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,845,893. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a twelve month low of $28.03 and a twelve month high of $58.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.08. The company has a market cap of $44.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 49.64% and a net margin of 11.96%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,596 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant company known for its Mexican-inspired menu of burritos, bowls, tacos and salads. Founded in 1993 by Steve Ells, the chain emphasizes fresh, customizable meals made from a limited menu of core ingredients and a focus on ingredient quality. Chipotle operates primarily company-owned restaurants and offers dine-in, takeout, catering and delivery through its own digital platforms and third-party partners.

The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, and traces its roots to Denver, Colorado.