Wednesday’s Hottest Stocks: Toyota, Chipotle, Staples, More

Chipotle Mexican Grill Continues to Suffer E. coli Scandal Aftermath

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) announced that it has hired two food safety experts, including David Acheson, one of the most vehement critics of the Denver-based burrito company. Chipotle Mexican Grill has been in hot water since an outbreak of E. coli last year forced it to close several restaurants. The company has lost customers and approximately $6 billion has been wiped from its market valuation amid the scandal. Last week, Food Safety News reported that Chipotle had written a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December of last year, accusing the regulatory body of spreading misinformation to the public. The CDC rejected those claims in its response. Chipotle’s shareholder meeting is slated to take place today, in which its investors are expected to demand a shakeup of the company’s board amid its poor performance and plunging stock. So far, shares of Chipotle have lost 29% over the last year. Shares are down by 0.73% today.

Out of the 785 hedge funds in our database, 39 funds held positions in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) at the end of the fourth quarter, with a total value of around $1.1 billion. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global held ownership of approximately 689,000 shares of the company on December 31.

Align Technology Gets ‘Outperform’ Rating from Credit Suisse

Analysts at Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in a note to investors this morning, setting an ‘outperform’ rating and $84.00 price target on the stock. The firm says that Align Technology has the potential for revenue growth because of its growing portfolio of patented technologies. The stock is 0.40% in the red today. As of March 31, Clifford Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors had more than 1.1 million shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in its portfolio.

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