Put contracts dominated options trading in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Tuesday, with 240,000 puts against fewer than 17,000 calls as total activity rose above eight times its month-long average, CNBC reported.
CNBC highlighted a trade opened around 11:30 a.m. ET Tuesday involving 7,500 puts with a $28 strike price and a Nov. 20 expiration. The outlet described the position as a $1.1 million bet and said Chipotle shares would need to fall another 5% over roughly three and a half weeks.
CNBC also attributed at least $2 million of the $8 million in put premiums to a shift involving 56,000 contracts. The trader bought back puts with a $25 strike expiring Nov. 6, which CNBC said were likely sold earlier, and sold the same number of puts with a $22.50 strike expiring in mid-December.
Jason DeLorenzo, founder and owner of options platform Volland, said the trades appeared linked to earnings. Volland’s customer data showed customers were “generally bearish,” he said.
CNBC also cited $27 as a chart level under scrutiny, describing it as the shoulder line of a pattern dating to January 2021. The outlet said chart analysts often view a break below such a line as negative. DeLorenzo added that Chipotle’s implied move before earnings had last been this low in July 2025, when the stock fell sharply.
