UPDATE: Citigroup Upgrades Chipotle Mexican Grill to Buy on Healthy SSS Trends

Citigroup raised its rating on Chipotle Mexican Grill

from Neutral to Buy and raised its price target from $486 to $490. Citigroup commented, "Our recent channel checks in natural and organic show the strong sales trends from 1Q continued into 2Q without a major slowdown in any given month through the quarter. This bodes well for Chipotle, since we have seen a strong correlation between natural/ organic SSS and Chipotle's SSS trends. We think SSS for 2Q could be in the 10-11% range which would be better than some recent sell-side checks that indicate sales trends moderated into the 7-8% range. Although there may be some pressure on the high end consumer due to macro concerns, we think they continue to spend on affordable luxuries such as natural and organic food." Chipotle Mexican Grill closed at $294.34 on Monday.