McDonald’s price target raised to $314 from $292 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on McDonald’s (MCD) to $314 from $292 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares following quarterly results. As seen from others this earnings season, McDonald’s Q1 same-store sales result “missed” consensus expectations, but didn’t necessarily “miss” buy-side investor expectations, the firm says. In this case, the investment community believes that U.S. same-store sales trends were much better in April, and there is also some McDonald’s-specific optimism building around the launch of Crispy Chicken Strips followed by snack wraps later this year. For Piper’s part, the comments that caught its attention had to do with the industry trends. Specifically, management referenced that QSR industry transactions were down “nearly double digits,” with the low-income consumer cohort in the Q1 time period, which is similar to last quarter and was also in line with management’s previously communicated expectations.