The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved up 8.8% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. Since the last review it its composite score eased.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
CMG · a US exchange · USD · Market cap $39.6B · 135,000 employees
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants.
FAIL · Does not pass the screenPrice as of 6 Nov 2026Daily close, not a live quote
Screened 2026-11-06 · the tape above runs as of 10:09 UTC · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
Key facts today
- Price34.43 USD at the 6 Nov 2026 close
- Our value readFair vs our fair value, as of 6 Nov 2026
- Our regime readMarkup, as of 7 Nov 2026
- Ethical screenDoes not pass
- OptionsOpen interest leans heavily to calls (put/call 0.34)
- Last reviewed6 Nov 2026 (1 days ago)
- Release timesRelease and earnings times on your chart: Event Guard Mentor
A summary of the dated readings below, not a live quote and not advice.
Our fair-value range: $28.80 to $40.28, base estimate $35.02 (screen dated 2026-11-06).
- Trend Markup
- Insiders no filings inside 60 days, left as found
- Positioning political selling, disclosed 2026-10-02
- Options put/call open interest 0.34, read 2026-11-01
- Ethical does not pass the values gate
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
This name holds its markup label.
Chipotle Mexican Grill holds its Markup at $34.43. Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 42 days.
| Phase | Markup |
| Quantitative state | Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 42 days |
| Price at the screen | $34.43 |
| Valuation | 28.70 trailing · 22.90 forward price to earnings |
| Values screen | FAIL · score 10.0 |
| Beta | 0.96 |
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Debt ratio
| Test | Figure | Limit | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity | Permissible | Core business clean | Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending. | Pass |
| Debt load | 56.43% | Below 33% | Interest-bearing debt is 56.4% of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows. | Fail |
| Interest-bearing cash | 2.19% | Below 33% | Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 2.2% of assets, under the one-third limit. | Pass |
| Receivables | 5.64% | Below 49% | Money owed to the company is 5.6% of assets, under the 49% limit. | Pass |
| Revenue purity | 0.62% | Below 5% | Only 0.6% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line. | Pass |
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical ReadWhy It Falls Short, in Plain English
Chipotle Mexican Grill's business is in a permissible area, but its interest-bearing debt is about 56% of the company, well over the ~33% line, so it does not pass on the financial screens.
Read as at 2026-11-07. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
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The Fair Value Range
Our analysis reads Fair vs our fair value, as of 6 Nov 2026: it trades at roughly a 2% discount to our $35.02 fair value, moderate competitive moat, 9.30% revenue growth.
How a fair value is estimated: discounted cash flow (DCF).
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-11-06 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 1.7% discount to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 31 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +16% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Our more conservative model reads it as roughly fairly valued here, while the Street is more bullish: a quality-at-a-fair-price name rather than a deep-value one.
Price History & ProjectionsWhere our models see it going: fair-value estimate $35.02, with a range of $28.80 to $40.28, dated to the 2026-11-06 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain WordsChipotle's Debt Load Trips Ethical Line
Picture a burrito chain loved for its quick bowls yet weighed down by borrowing that fails a basic debt check. We pass on Chipotle because the ethical screen flags its debt ratio, and that single issue overrides the rest of the picture.
Revenue grows at a modest 7 percent with 12 percent profit margins and a 49 percent ROE, yet the forward multiple sits at 25.4 times and the moat is only moderate. The stock trades near our fair value with a slim 6 percent margin of safety, so nothing here offsets the ethical red flag.
Analysts may still see upside to 43 dollars, but cyclical restaurant spending can shift fast and any extra leverage amplifies the swing. Analysis, not advice.
| Forward P/E | 22.9xexpensive even after accounting for its growth |
| Trailing P/E | 28.7xa premium valuation |
| EPS, trailing | 1.09 |
| EPS, forward | 1.37 |
| Revenue growth | +9.3%steady growth |
| Profit margin | 11.4%thin but positive margins |
| Return on equity | 49.6%an exceptional return on shareholder capital |
| FCF yield | 2.82% |
| Debt to equity | 2.46heavy leverage: higher risk if revenue softens |
| Current ratio | 0.72below 1: short-term bills exceed liquid assets |
| Beta | 0.96steadier than the market |
| Short interest, float | 0.03% |
| 52-week range | 27.31 - 41.42 |
| Moat | MODERATE |
| Market cap | $39.6B |
| Employees | 135,000 |
Another profit measure, before interest, tax and non-cash costs: EBITDA.
The risks · The things to watch: it carries a real debt load, which raises the stakes if revenue slips.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to TradeCMG trades on a US exchange. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
Every Entry, As Written
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 4.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 40%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 13%. The street (34 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $43.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
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Headlines from third-party outlets, linked for reference: not our reporting, not advice.
Screened names in the same industry · explore each on its own page.
| Date | Insider | Title | Type | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-27 | Ells Stephen | Founder, Chairman | Sale | 100 | $316,575 |
| 2026-05-26 | Crump Scott | Director | Purchase | 50 | $157,500 |
| 2026-05-25 | Niccol Brian R. | CEO | Award/Grant | 200 | · |
| 2026-05-24 | Brandt Jack | CFO | Option Exercise | 300 | $450,000 |
| 2026-05-23 | Smith Karen | Director | Tax Withholding | 50 | $155,000 |
| 2026-05-22 | Jones David | VP, Marketing | Gift | 10 | · |
| 2026-05-20 | BALDOCCHI ALBERT STEVEN | Director | 6,672 | · | |
| 2026-02-24 | FILI-KRUSHEL PATRICIA D | Director | 3,350 | $122,543 | |
| 2026-02-13 | RYMER ADAM T | Chief Financial Officer | 25,526 | · | |
| 2026-02-13 | BUSH MATTHEW R | Officer | 6,416 | · |
Public filings, recorded as found. The full tape lives at Insider Intelligence.
| Date | Politician | Party | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-02 | Pete Sessions | Republican | sell | 15K–50K |
| 2026-09-25 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-09-25 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-09-25 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-09-17 | Tony Wied | Republican | sell | 15K–50K |
| Period | Price then | Price return | Divs per share | $1,000 became | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $31.92 | -4.3% | · | $957 | -4.3% |
| 2 months | $34.09 | -10.4% | · | $896 | -10.4% |
| 3 months | $32.56 | -6.2% | · | $938 | -6.2% |
| 6 months | $34.87 | -12.4% | · | $876 | -12.4% |
| 1 year | $50.62 | -39.7% | · | $603 | -39.7% |
| 2 years | $62.60 | -51.2% | · | $488 | -51.2% |
| 3 years | $40.81 | -25.2% | · | $748 | -25.2% |
| 5 years | $27.34 | +11.7% | · | $1,117 | +11.7% |
Historical returns from market close data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This entry now belongs to the ledger. Whatever CMG does next, these words stay.
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