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

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

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE CMG traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.99. The company had a trading volume of 6,685,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,845,893. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.08. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a fifty-two week low of $28.03 and a fifty-two week high of $58.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho raised Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.10.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7,176.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 88.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 274,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $15,406,000 after acquiring an additional 129,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

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.