Looking At Chipotle Mexican Grill's Recent Unusual Options Activity

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG, and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in CMG usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 10 extraordinary options activities for Chipotle Mexican Grill. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 30% leaning bullish and 70% bearish. Among these notable options, 5 are puts, totaling $228,126, and 5 are calls, amounting to $395,345.

Expected Price Movements

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $1800.0 to $3100.0 for Chipotle Mexican Grill over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Chipotle Mexican Grill's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Chipotle Mexican Grill's significant trades, within a strike price range of $1800.0 to $3100.0, over the past month.

Chipotle Mexican Grill 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill is the largest fast-casual chain restaurant in the United States, with systemwide sales of $8.6 billion in 2022. The Mexican concept is predominately company-owned (it recently inked a development agreement with Alshaya Group in the Middle East), with a footprint of nearly 3,200 stores at the end of 2022, heavily indexed to the United States, although the firm maintains a small presence in Canada, the U.K., France, and Germany. Chipotle sells burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas, and beverages, with a selling proposition built around competitive prices, high-quality food sourcing, speed of service, and convenience. The company generates its revenue entirely from restaurant sales and delivery fees.

In light of the recent options history for Chipotle Mexican Grill, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.

Chipotle Mexican Grill's Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 325, the CMG's price is down by -0.49%, now at $2175.88.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 77 days.

Expert Opinions on Chipotle Mexican Grill

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $2143.0.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Keybanc keeps a Overweight rating on Chipotle Mexican Grill with a target price of $2250.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from TD Cowen downgraded its rating to Outperform, setting a price target of $2200.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Morgan Stanley continues to hold a Equal-Weight rating for Chipotle Mexican Grill, targeting a price of $2070.
• An analyst from Barclays persists with their Equal-Weight rating on Chipotle Mexican Grill, maintaining a target price of $1865.
• Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Stephens & Co. lowers its rating to Overweight with a new price target of $2330.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.