Traders Buy High Volume of Chipotle Mexican Grill Put Options (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 105,887 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 35% compared to the typical volume of 78,267 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 84.3% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,378 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 6,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 41.3% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 14,939 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of CMG traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $37.05. 15,295,772 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,082,645. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 1-year low of $29.75 and a 1-year high of $58.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.98 and a 200-day moving average of $38.59.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 47.99%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.24.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.