Chipotle stock is plummeting after news that CEO Brian Niccol is headed for Starbucks
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) stock is sliding today, down 12.8% at $48.73 at last look, after news that Starbucks (SBUX) is replacing CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol. Chipotle has appointed COO Scott Boatwright as interim chief executive amid the abrupt c-suite shakeup.
For context, Starbucks struggled in recent quarters, seeing pressure from slower demand in the U.S. and China. As Niccol had an extremely successful stint at Chipotle -- even through the pandemic -- with shares up over 770% since he took the position in 2018, Starbucks shares are soaring after the announcement.
Should these losses hold, Chipotle stock will mark its largest daily percentage loss since October 2017. Looking to snap a three-day win streak, the equity is still up 6.6% since the start of 2024.
Over in the options pits, CMG has seen 117,000 calls and 88,000 puts exchanged so far -- six times the volume typically seen at this point. The August 55 call is the most popular.