** Chipotle Mexican Grill hiked its FY sales forecast, helped by solid demand for its burritos and rice bowls despite higher menu prices ** Shares were up 3.5% at $3,030 premarket, set to add to ~28% gains so far this year; at least 17 brokerages raise PTs
MOMENTUM TYPICALLY BEGETS MOMENTUM ** BTIG ("buy", PT: $3,350) after "stellar Q1 earnings", expects same-store sales trends to be even better in Q2 on the heels of faster throughput, higher pricing and a calendar shift ** Stifel ("buy", PT $3,270) believes momentum typically begets momentum and says Chipotle still has a meaningful runway to accelerate the flywheel ** Piper Sandler ("neutral", $3,070) notes CMG's traffic out-performance across segments right now is "quite remarkable", with gaps within the industry widening ** William Blair ("outperform") sees benefits of CMG's throughput gains likely increasing on entering higher-volume spring/summer months ** Says throughput may still be in the early innings of becoming a multi-year driver of transaction growth ** TD Cowen ("buy", PT $3,500) says CMG's low relative pricing versus peers amid a tough industry backdrop and promotions in Braised Beef Barbacoa & Chicken Al Pastor resonating well
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru)
((Savyata.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com))
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