** Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG.N hiked its FY sales forecast, helped by solid demand for its burritos and rice bowls despite higher menu prices
** Shares were up 3.5% at $3,030 premarket, set to add to ~28% gains so far this year; at least 17 brokerages raise PTs
MOMENTUM TYPICALLY BEGETS MOMENTUM
** BTIG ("buy", PT: $3,350) after "stellar Q1 earnings", expects same-store sales trends to be even better in Q2 on the heels of faster throughput, higher pricing and a calendar shift
** Stifel ("buy", PT $3,270) believes momentum typically begets momentum and says Chipotle still has a meaningful runway to accelerate the flywheel
** Piper Sandler ("", $3,070) CMG's traffic out-performance across segments right is "quite remarkable", with gaps within the industry widening
** William Blair ("outperform") sees benefits of CMG's throughput gains likely increasing on entering higher-volume spring/summer months
** Says throughput may still be in the early innings of becoming a multi-year driver of transaction growth
** TD Cowen ("buy", PT $3,500) says CMG's low relative pricing versus peers amid a tough industry backdrop and promotions in Braised Beef Barbacoa & Chicken Al Pastor resonating well
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru)