Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Short Interest Up 6.2% in December

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 9,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

NYSE CMG opened at $60.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap 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. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $44.08 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.97 and a 200-day moving average of $80.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CMG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research 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, Chipotle Mexican Grill currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% during the third quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 13,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 31,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.4% in the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.7% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.