By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) shares rose 2.4% Monday after Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) upgraded the stock to a strong buy.
Analyst Brian Vaccaro’s pegged his target for the stock at $1,800, a nearly 32% upside from its Friday close of $1,366.80.
Chipotle told Bloomberg last week it had increased prices by 3.5% to 4% across its menu.
According to Vaccaro, price increases create significant upside to second-half consensus comparison expectations.
Chipotle announced in May it was hiring 20,000 employees and raising its average hourly wage to $15.
Speaking at an event hosted by investment bank Baird, Chipotle Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol said the company expects average annual unit sales to rise to $3 million to $3.5 million in the near term, compared to the recently reported level of $2.4 million, according to Bloomberg.