Chipotle price target lowered to $2,225 from $2,300 at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner lowered the firm’s price target on Chipotle to $2,225 from $2,300 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm says its refreshed pricing study reveals Chipotle’s menu prices are an average of -18.3% below close competitors across various markets. This represents an improved price-gap vs the -16.7% in Oppenheimer’s Jan-2022 study, and reinforces its belief that Chipotle is still supremely positioned to win share, armed with a more defensive model than perceived, and has ongoing pricing runway. The firm also performed a deep dive modeling analysis into Q3 earnings, and now expects in-line EPS for the second half of 2023. Oppenheimer lowered 2023/2024 EPS to levels that align more closely with consensus, but still represent attractive earnings expansion of +33% in 2023 and over 20% in 2024.