What's Going On With Chipotle Stock Thursday?

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG shares traded higher before paring gains Thursday morning on the heels of the company’s second-quarter financial results. Here’s what you need to know.

What Happened: After the market close on Wednesday, Chipotle reported second-quarter revenue of $2.97 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. The company also beat analyst estimates for earnings of 32 cents per share with reported earnings of 34 cents per share.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, Chipotle has now beat estimates on the top and bottom lines in four consecutive quarters.

Comparable restaurant sales increased 11.1% year-over-year driven by over 8% transaction growth as margins expanded. Operating margin was 19.7% in the second quarter, up from 17.2% year-over-year.

Chipotle noted that it repurchased $151.4 million of its stock during the second quarter and said it had $647.7 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization after its board authorized an additional $400 million in repurchases in June.

Chipotle reiterated expectations for full-year 2024 comparable restaurant sales growth in the mid to high single-digit range. The company said it still anticipates opening between 285 and 315 new restaurants in 2024 with over 80% including a Chipotlane.

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Analyst Changes: Multiple analysts adjusted price targets on the stock following the print.

• Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan maintained Chipotle with a Neutral and lowered the price target from $64 to $54.

• Stephens & Co. analyst Jim Salera maintained Chipotle with an Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $64 to $61.

• TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles maintained Chipotle with a Buy and lowered the price target from $72 to $65.

• Piper Sandler analyst Brian Mullan maintained Chipotle with a Neutral and lowered the price target from $61 to $56.

CMG Price Action: Chipotle shares initially climbed more than 13% on the report, before pulling back. The stock was down 0.44% at $51.55 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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