Short Interest in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Decreases By 5.2%

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 28,370,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 29,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CMG. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, September 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.27.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total transaction of $100,920.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,333.80. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $898,537.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,866,023. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CMG opened at $58.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.77, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.28. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12-month low of $43.20 and a 12-month high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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.