The company reported a top-line beat, but expects same-store-sales to remain flat
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) shares are up 0.8% to trade at $37.48 at last check, after after company surpassed analyst estimates with reported earnings of 25 cents per share and revenue of $2.98 billion for the fourth quarter. Chipotle's same-store sales fell on minimal transactions though, and forecasted the key metric to remain flat, likely keeping gains in check today.
In response to the mixed report, analysts are retreating from the burrito maker, with nine brokerages issuing price-target cuts, the worst coming from Mizuho to $37 from $38. More bear notes could be on the way, considering the 12-month consensus target price of $44.86 is a 14.7% premium to current levels.
CMG yesterday snapped a six-day losing streak that started with a rejection at its 160-day moving average. The shares are still up 32% from November 11 low of $29.75 though.
Options traders have been betting bearishly. The stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.16 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than 98% of readings from the past year. Echoing this, CMG's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.47 stands in the 100th percentile of annual readings.
The stock also tends to outperform options traders' volatility expectations, per its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 87 out of 100.