Today’s Research Reports on Stocks to Watch: Chipotle and Blue Apron

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 27, 2018 / Blue Apron had an exciting day of trading on Thursday with shares exploding after Wall Street learned that reigning champ Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” chose the stock as part of his 2018 CNBC Stock Draft. O’Leary speculates that Blue Apron may be soon acquired. Shares of Chipotle also sailed higher after a mixed first quarter earnings report that was followed by a price target increase and stock upgrade from Canaccord Genuity.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=CMG

Blue Apron Holdings, Inc.
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=APRN

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. shares closed up nearly 25% on Thursday on a little over 7 million shares traded. It was on Wednesday that the burrito restaurant chain reported first quarter earnings that were mixed. While the company’s earnings per share beat estimates, its sales did not. For the quarter Chipotle reported EPS of $2.13, which was higher than the $1.57 that analysts had expected. Canaccord Genuity analyst Lynne Collier upgraded the stock from “hold” to “buy” and lifted her price target significantly from $300 to $425. She remarked, “Chipotle’s Q1 could signal the company’s fundamentals have bottomed out.” She also said, “The earnings report makes it reasonable to assume management’s prior margin guidance of 17.5 to 18.5 percent in 2018 is not only conservative, but potentially beatable, Collier said. Analyst Sara Senatore of Bernstein maintained an “outperform” rating with unchanged price target of $500. David Tarantino of Baird Equity Research also maintained his “outperform” rating and upped his price target from $400 to $440. Stifel analyst Chris O’Cull raised his price to $325, an increase of $50, while maintaining the “Hold” rating on the stock.

Access RDI’s Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Research Report at:
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=CMG

Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. shares were headed north in Thursday trading and soared to as high as $2.28 during intra-day trading. The meal delivery kit company closed up 14.72% higher after the company was picked by Kevin O’Leary, a star of “Shark Tank” as his second-round choice in Power Lunch’s 2018 CNBC Stock Draft. According to O’Leary, Blue Apron could be acquired soon. Traders were celebrating this news as the stock has seen a loss of over 80% since it made its IPO debut in the market last summer in June. O’Leary remarked, “Having gotten close to that industry, getting involved with Plated, which was acquired by Albertsons … I thought, I know this space. Blue Apron can’t survive on its own and it’ll get acquired, and I’m thinking the acquisition price could be between $4 and $5.” On shares exploding yesterday he said, “m very disappointed the stock popped because I would rather it did that tomorrow.” It was not too long ago that hedge fund manager Will Meade tweeted that he heard reports that Blue Apron was in talks to get acquired. On April 17th he tweeted, “A little birdie told me $APRN @blueapron will be acquired by a grocery store chain for $3 or better.”

Access RDI’s Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. Research Report at:
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=APRN

Our Actionable research on Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) and Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: APRN) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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