Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. ( NYSE: CMG) launched several major promotional events in the past month, including National Avocado Day, the return of the popular Chipotle IQ trivia game, and a partnership with musician Alex Warren. Second-quarter results included revenue growth but traffic and comparable sales declines. Since that quarterly report, the stock has retreated 17.6%. The share price fell to a 52-week low of $41.18 this month and has recovered 4.3% since then. It is also 28.3% lower since the beginning of the year, underperforming the S&P 500 in that time. Analysts remain optimistic, though. On average, they recommend buying shares and have a consensus price target that suggests more than 34% upside in the next year.
Chipotle's food safety crisis in 2015 demonstrated that the commitment to quality can create vulnerabilities in maintaining high-integrity supply chains at scale.
The humble chipotle pepper became Chipotle's name and logo to indicate the chain's commitment to fresh, real ingredients and fast food done right.