Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is set to report its most recent financial results after the markets close on Tuesday. The consensus estimates are $3.76 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.41 billion in revenue. The second quarter of last year reportedly had $2.87 in EPS and $1.27 billion in revenue.
This Mexican restaurant chain has been subject to a few health scares in the past, but the most recent one may be unfounded. While shares took a hit in May as the result of a downgrade, some pushed back, including CNBC’s Jim Cramer.
BMO Capital Markets downgraded Chipotle to an Underperform rating from Market Perform and lowered its price target to $620 from $675.
The firm detailed in its report that Chipotle has the greatest pork exposure in its coverage (estimated at 10%), and BMO’s work suggests that Chipotle realizes commodity inflation with little to no lag.
Jim Cramer refuted this call, saying that the stock market is going through a “sloppy” spell and conclusions are being put forward practically out of desperation. Cramer added, “This is the kind of analysis that’s born of fear and smacks of a market that’s getting ready to bottom.”
According to Chipotle’s chief financial officer, Jack Hartung, the company’s exposure is less than 2%. The chain buys more expensive pork than commodity pork and does not expect any meaningful impact.
A few other analysts have weighed in on Chipotle since the BMO downgrade:
- Morgan Stanley has an Equal Weight rating with a $700 target.
- Wedbush has a Neutral rating with a $750 price target.
- Wells Fargo has a Market Perform rating and a $696 price target.
- Piper Jaffray has an Overweight rating and an $824 price target.
- JPMorgan has a Neutral rating with a $650 target price.
- Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating with an $870 target.
Shares of Chipotle traded down over 1% to $732.03 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $383.20 to $765.99.
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