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

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CMG. Citigroup decreased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at $26,115,436.20. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 185,792 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,080,978 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,612,682,000 after purchasing an additional 438,007 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,732.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,177,309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,264,109,000 after buying an additional 19,759,754 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,661,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $805,692,000 after buying an additional 381,873 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,209.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,935,669 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $685,128,000 after buying an additional 10,729,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,930.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,310,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,930,000 after buying an additional 10,139,174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CMG opened at $60.30 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $44.08 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.94. The stock has a market cap of $82.16 billion, a PE ratio of 56.12, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.