Redburn Atlantic downgraded MCD to "sell" from "buy"
Redburn Atlantic earlier downgraded the shares of blue-chip fast food giant McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD) to "sell" form "buy," and cut its price target to $260 from $319. This is the third downgrade MCD has received in three days, with the analyst in coverage citing weight-loss drugs like Ozempic as a critical business threat.
MCD earlier slipped to its lowest level since April, as it continues to pull away from a late May attempt to conquer long-term resistance at the $320 region. Shares are today testing support from the 200-day moving average, which contained multiple pullbacks in the past year. For 2025, the stock sports a slim 3.9% lead.
Options volume is today running at double the intraday average amount, with 7,142 calls and 2,437 puts exchanged so far. The June 345 call is the most active contract, with new positions being sold to open there.
Options traders lean more pessimistic than usual. This is per MCD's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.13 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 90th percentile of annual readings.