Chipotle Norovirus Returns? Today's Stock Price After Restaurant Closes From Illness

The restaurant chain Chipotle's Mexican Grill found itself in a familiar albeit unfavorable position Tuesday when stocks plummeted nearly 8 percent after reports surfaced that multiple customers were ill after eating at one of the chains' restaurants in Sterling, Virginia.

Stock prices for the restaurant chain fell 7.6 percent mid-afternoon Tuesday — sinking as low as 362.40, the worst since early November, according to a report by Investors Business Daily — before closing down 4.3 percent at 374.98.

Wednesday morning, the company's stocks continued its downturn with its pre-market share price down 1.2 percent. Over the last year, Chipotles' shares have declined 10 percent, according to a Wednesday report by CNBC. Before the stocks dropped Tuesday, the embattled company had been up 3.9 percent this year through Monday's closing bell.

READ: What Is Norovirus? Chipotle Closes Virginia Restaurant After Outbreak Of Contagious Virus

The latest blow to the company's performance on Wall Street comes after one of the chain's restaurants in Sterling, Virginia was shut down after at least 13 people who ate at the restaurant between July 14 and July 17 reported illnesses.

The affected customers reported their symptoms to the website iwaspoisoned.com, according to a Tuesday report by Business Insider. Their symptoms included "vomiting violently," fevers, "violent stomach cramps," and dizziness for several days. Two people were reported hospitalized.

"Purchased chipotle not to long ago and became sick literally minutes after eating," read one of the responses on iwaspoisoned from July 19. "I also gave my fiancé a portion and she also became sick. We never thought I was chipoltes fault, until now we've been told the chipotle we've eaten at for the past few years has shut down!! Please help."

"I ate at Chipotle Saturday, July 15, around 6 p.m.," read another report from the site. "I had a chicken burrito with black beans, brown rice, corn, salsa, cheese and lettuce. Monday night around 11 p.m. I began having severe stomach pain and by 3 a.m. had non-stop diarrhea. By Tuesday morning I also had a fever. The diarrhea stopped Tuesday evening and the fever broke then as well. Now (Wednesday) I'm weak and tired with no appetite."

READ: Chipotle Hacked: Credit Card Breach, Malware Hit 'Most' Locations, Restaurant Reports

Chipotle responded to the reports arguing that it was an isolated incident and that the restaurant was going to reopen Tuesday after the place was sanitized.

"We are working with health authorities to understand what the cause may be and to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," Jim Marsden, Chipotle's executive director of food safety, told Business Insider Tuesday. "The reported symptoms are consistent with norovirus. Norovirus does not come from our food supply, and it is safe to eat at Chipotle."

The downturn for the company replays the nightmare that the chain experienced in 2015. when multiple reports of foodborne-illness outbreaks — including E Coli — sent the company's stock prices reeling. In December 2015, at least 120 students at Boston College came down with norovirus after eating at one of the restaurants.