Analyst Update: Microsoft, Chipotle, ARM Holdings

Analysts are weighing in today on blue chip Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), and chipmaker ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:ARMH). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on MSFT, CMG, and ARMH.

• MSFT is off 2.7% this afternoon at $45.99, after the company posted a massive quarterly loss. Further contributing to the stock's struggles are price-target cuts at Jefferies (to $37) and Wunderlich Securities (to $50). After accounting for the slide, Microsoft Corporation is now sitting below its year-to-date breakeven mark -- yet option traders remain very optimistic. The security's 10-day call/put volume ratio across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is 2.62, which ranks in the 94th annual percentile.


• CMG has jumped 7.8% to trade at $725.84 -- and earlier touched a record peak of $729.65 -- after the company's earnings beat. The shares are also on the receiving end of price-target hikes from Credit Suisse ($750), J.P. Morgan Securities ($750), Piper Jaffray ($740), and Deutsche Bank ($710). Thanks to this morning's bull gap, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has found its way into positive year-to-date territory. Option players have been counting on additional gains, too. CMG's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 1.01 outranks all but 10% of comparable readings recorded in the previous year.


• ARMH is taking its lumps today, plunging 5.7% at $45.09 -- and back in the red for 2015 -- on lackluster earnings and Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) weaker-than-expected sales forecast. (AAPL is a major customer of ARM Holdings plc.) Contributing to ARMH's bearish bias is a $5 price-target cut to $50 at Topeka Capital -- though Northland Capital raised its price target to $61 from $59. On the Street, while options traders have been extremely pessimistic toward the security, the brokerage crowd is overwhelmingly positive, generally speaking. Eleven analysts have doled out "buy" or better endorsements on ARMH, versus one "hold" and a pair of "strong sells." Also, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $58.25 registers in uncharted territory.

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: GoPro, Inc., Ambarella Inc, and Exxon Mobil Corporation and Analyst Downgrades: Peabody Energy Corporation, Lifelock Inc, and Yahoo! Inc.