Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 28,370,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 29,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $866,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 473,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,052,740.28. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total value of $100,920.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,333.80. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,290 shares of company stock worth $1,866,023. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $1,612,682,000 after acquiring an additional 438,007 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,732.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,177,309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,264,109,000 after purchasing an additional 19,759,754 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,209.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,935,669 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $685,128,000 after purchasing an additional 10,729,706 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,930.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,310,132 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $645,930,000 after purchasing an additional 10,139,174 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,830,644 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $566,439,000 after purchasing an additional 518,521 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CMG traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.87. The company had a trading volume of 3,771,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,804,757. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $43.20 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CMG. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $74.60 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.27.

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.