Wells Fargo analyst Jon Tower upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $1,000, up from $868. The shares closed Tuesday down 4%, or $31.99, to $736.07. Chipotlane stores, which will account for over 50% of new stores in 2020, are set to accelerate the company's move back toward all-time high store-level sales, margins and returns, Tower tells investors in a research note. This is not appreciated by the market, contends the analyst. When coupled with a "multitude" of same-store-sales drivers, including new products, loyalty, growing marketing and operational initiatives, Tower has greater confidence in Chipotle reaching new highs for system average unit volumes and regaining historical highs for store-level margins. He believes the company's growth is "on sale" following the recent share pullback

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For 2024, management is anticipating the following: Full year comparable restaurant sales growth in the mid to high-single digit range; 285 to 315 new restaurant openings with over 80% having a Chipotlane. An estimated underlying effective full year tax rate between 25% and 27% before discrete items.

Reports Q1 revenue $2.7B, consensus $2.67B. Comparable restaurant sales increased 7.0%. "We had another outstanding quarter driven by our improvement in throughput and successful marketing initiatives, including Braised Beef Barbacoa and Chicken Al Pastor, which drove strong sales and transactions. The results we are seeing from our focus on developing exceptional people, preparing delicious food and fast throughput gives me confidence that we can achieve our long-term target of more than doubling our business in North America and expanding internationally," said Brian Niccol, Chairman and CEO, Chipotle.

Pre-earnings options volume in Chipotle is 1.5x normal with puts leading calls 9:7. Implied volatility suggests the market is anticipating a move near 5.3%, or $154.14, after results are released. Median move over the past eight quarters is 7.0%.

Notable companies reporting after the market close, with earnings consensus, include Meta Plataforms (META), consensus $4.32... IBM (IBM), consensus $1.60... ServiceNow (NOW), consensus $3.14... Lam Research (LRCX), consensus $7.30... Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), consensus $11.68... O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), consensus $9.26... Ford Motor (F), consensus 42c... United Rentals (URI), consensus $8.32... Align Technology (ALGN), consensus $1.97... Molina Healthcare (MOH), consensus $5.59... Teradyne (TER), consensus 33c... Universa Health Services (UHS), consensus $3.16... Western Union (WU), consensus 41c.