Goldman Sachs Suggests Buying Straddles on Chipotle Mexican Grill

Goldman Sachs is out with a research note this morning, where it suggests that traders buy straddles on Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG ahead of earnings. The analysts noted that they prefer buying options into earnings given (1) their analyst believes expectations are elevated for CMG, especially on SSS trends, and (2) their analyst expects margins to come below the Street, driving his below consensus EPS. A rise in same-store-sales expectations throughout the quarter has been a large driver behind shares outperforming ahead of the quarter: CMG shares have significantly outperformed the market, + 6% in the past month (S&P500 -1%) and + 23% over the past 3 months (S&P500 -4%). The analysts suggest buying the August $330 straddle for $31.10, or 9% of the underlying. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate restaurants throughout the United States, as well as two restaurants in Toronto, Canada and one in London, England. As of December 31, 2010, Chipotle operated 1,084 restaurants.