Chipotle Stock Breaks Out of Sell-Off Shell

Wells Fargo upgraded Chipotle to "overweight" from "equal weight"

The shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NASDAQ:CMG) are up 4.02% to trade at $765.70 this morning after Wells Fargo upgraded the restaurant concern to "overweight" from "equal weight," and lifted its price target to $1,000 from $868. The analyst cited the expansion of its Chipotlane stores, and went on to say the security's recent pullback is looking like a good entry point for investors, adding that it is confident in the company's continual growth.

On the charts, CMG has been in sell-off mode, following a Feb. 20 record high of $940.28. Since this peak, the stock has lost 18.5%, exacerbated by a late-February bear gap, which breached a familiar area of support at the stock's 60-day moving average. On the other hand, the $700 level appears to be acting as a floor for the equity, which still boasts a roughly 20% 12 month gain.

The majority of the brokerage bunch is keeping cautious eye on CMG. Coming into today, 10 of the 28 in coverage called Chipotle a "strong buy," compared to 16 saying "hold." Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $943.09 is a healthy 27% premium to current levels.

Short sellers, on the other hand, have been jumping ship. Short interest has fallen 20.5% in the last two reporting periods, and now represents a slim 3.7% of the stock's available float. Plus, at its average daily pace of trading, it would take less than three days to buy back these bearish bets.