Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Short Interest Down 6.1% in November

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 25,660,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the November 15th total of 27,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $64.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.57 billion, a PE ratio of 60.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $44.08 and a one year high of $69.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.22.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was 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 owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMG. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $470,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 137.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14,354.8% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 27,175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 26,987 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,217.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,528,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $95,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,857 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,730.5% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 56,719 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.