McDonald's down after Morgan Stanley downgrade to 'equal-weight'

Shares of McDonald's MCD.N down as much as 2.4% at $299.85

Brokerage Morgan Stanley downgrades stock to "equal-weight" from "overweight"; cuts PT by $5 to $324

MCD is a top-quality business but hasn't been, and probably will not be, insulated from some structural pressures on fast food - brokerage

Sees challenges, including wage pressure on consumer budgets, health considerations, and a possible mixed future outside the U.S.

However, brokerage sees possible comparable sales improvement from FY26, benefit from customers trading-down on food choices, weaker U.S. dollar boosting foreign profit, and accelerating unit growth globally as reasons for investors to stick around

Average rating of 38 analysts is "buy"; with a median PT of $340 - data compiled by LSEG

Up to last close, stock has risen 3.8% YTD