Why Are Chipotle Shares Up 13% Over The Last Two Days?

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG shares are up over 13 percent over the last two days, but why? Analysts chime in on the issue and key take-away points for the year ahead.

Shares of Chipotle have been seen up 7.99 percent on Thursday from Wednesday's close.

CLSA: Buy Rating, PT Of $536

Analysts at CLSA upgraded Chipotle to a Buy rating on Thursday with a 12-month PT of $536.00. According to the firm, new food safety measures to reduce restaurant margins 100-200bps are "milder" than the Street feared.

"We are raising our estimates for FY17 to $19.15 from $18.06, which assumes AUVs recover to FY14 levels, but restaurant margins dip 200bps to 25.0 percent (vs our prior 24 percent), which, given broader protein deflation and the company's comments, we believe is conservative. We are raising our price target to $536 from $506," the report stated.

Related Link: Chipotle Higher Despite Market Rout

Credit Suisse: Outperform Rating, PT Of $530

Credit Suisse recognizes Chipotle's turnaround story as necessitating patience, and is positive on its new marketing campaign and management. The firm believes the company will focus on rebuilding confidence.

"Management expressed confidence that the CMG economic model will fully recover. While the CDC all clear may occur soon, the all clear for investors and customers will take time," the firm noted.

Citi: Buy Rating, PT Of $698

Citi is still buying Chipotle and sees near-$700 price as possible over the long term.

The firm reiterated a Buy rating, accompanied by a $698.00 price target after attending the company's presentation at ICR Conference 2016.

"The key risks to our investment thesis on CMG include 1) rising commodity costs and inflation, 2) a greater-than-expected slowdown in CMG's same-store sales trends, 3) a higher-than-expected promotional environment which may impact sales or margins, 4) difficulty in finding adequate sites and maintaining a support infrastructure to continue to accelerate unit growth, 5) potential costs related to higher health care expenses, 6) and unfavorable results and fallout from an immigration investigation. If any of these risks are realized, CMG could have difficulty meeting our target price," Citi analysts noted.