Chipotle Mexican Grill Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 105,887 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the average volume of 78,267 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% in 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. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.4% in the second quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 76,358 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 109.3% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 517 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 3.8%

NYSE CMG opened at $35.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.56. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12-month low of $29.75 and a 12-month high of $58.42. The firm has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.99.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 12.88%.Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CMG shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.24.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.