Shake Shack Inc. Units Valued At About $50 Million Each

A single Shake Shack Inc.

restaurant is worth about $50 million, based on the company's current stock price. The calculation, based on the number of stores the burger chain had opened at the end of 2014, equaled about $40 million when it was reported May 5 by Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/05/us-restaurants-stocks-analysis-idUSKBN0NQ0A320150505 But Shake Shack's stock has since gained roughly 23 percent. The shares traded recently at $91.60 after hours, after closing up 8.5 percent Thursday, apparently on a rumor it might open a separate chain of chicken sandwich shops. As of earlier this month, a Shake Shack store was valued at four times that of a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

restaurant and 15 times the value of a McDonald's Corp.

restaurant, as suggested by respective stock prices. A more recent calculation put the value of a single store owned by Starbucks Inc.

at $3.6 million. The spectrum heads down to Dunkin' Donuts shops, at a relatively humble $270,000 each. The chain is franchised by Dunkin Brands Group Inc.

. About 6.6 percent of Shake Shack's float is held as short interest. Investors are hoping that a group of relatively upscale, so-called fast casual restaurants will appeal to consumers who are put off by dining that is merely fast. But the shares of some of those restaurants, including Shake Shack, Zoe's Kitchen Inc.

and Habit Restaurants Inc.

are at "sky-high levels that imply growth expectations that may prove hard for the management to deliver," Reuters said.