Analyst Update: Tesla, Chipotle, and Charles Schwab

Analysts are weighing in on electric car concern Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), and investment firm Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on TSLA, CMG, and SCHW.

• TSLA -- which will host its annual shareholder meeting next Tuesday -- saw its price target lifted to $355 from $325 at Dougherty, representing a 43.4% premium to the stock's current perch at $247.60, as well as a record high. The brokerage firm said Tesla Motors Inc's plans to store energy "could drive forward human evolution, because harnessing the sun's energy represents humanity's next great leap forward." The security is up 0.7% after the upbeat analyst note, extending its recent momentum. In fact, since hitting an annual low of $181.40 in late March, TSLA has added 36.5%, thanks to a lift from its 20-day moving average. Shorts, meanwhile, have been hitting the bricks amid this uptrend, with short interest down nearly 7% during the last two reporting periods. However, almost 26% of the equity's float is still sold short, leaving plenty of room for more short covering. Elsewhere, TSLA said it will offer a reward to those who find security "bugs" on its website.


• Wedbush weighed in on a number of restaurant names, and while one stock received a round of bullish attention, CMG was not so lucky. In fact, Wedbush cut its price target to $620 from $665. Shares of CMG have still managed to tack on 0.2% this afternoon to trade at $612.90, but longer term, have shed 15.8% since topping out at a record peak of $727.97 in early January. Overall, analysts have maintained a glass-half-full approach toward Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Of the 25 brokerage firms covering the shares, 15 maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found. Plus, the average 12-month price target of $736.58 stands at a 17% premium to present trading levels -- and sits in territory yet to be charted.


• Financial stocks are having a big day. SCHW, for example, jumped to a 14-year high of $33.59 out of the gate, after Goldman Sachs raised its rating to "buy" from "neutral." Specifically, one analyst waxed optimistic over the company's $7 billion in customer assets, saying its "ability to bring deposits on balance sheet is ... one of the most virtuous cycles in banking." At last check, the stock was 2.9% higher at $33.18, bringing its year-to-date advance to 9.9%. The move higher is likely being cheered in the options pits. Charles Schwab Corp's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 21.29 ranks in the 91st percentile of its annual range.