Chipotle price target lowered to $69 from $71 at Citi

Citi lowered the firm’s price target on Chipotle to $69 from $71 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the Q2 report. The analyst expects “bears will make noise” about Chipotle’s traffic and comp slowdown into July and store-level margin reset. However, this “misses the forest for the trees” as the company’s share gains continue to pick up, margin pressures are partially self-inflicted and likely to have offsetting long-term positive frequency implications and “there remains a slew of new products/initiatives on the horizon as traffic/margin drivers,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.