The CDC linked the company to a deadly E. coli outbreak
McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) stock is down 6.6% to trade at $293.94 at last check, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked an E. coli outbreak to the fast food company’s Quarter Pounder burgers. The incident resulted in 10 hospitalizations and one death, according to the health agency. In response, Guggenheim cut its price target to $285 from $290.
Shares are on track for their worst day since March 2020 and third-straight daily drop, as they pivot lower from their Oct. 21, record high of $317.90. The 60-day moving average appears to be containing a pullback to the stock’s lowest level since mid-September, however. In the last 12 months, MCD added over 15%.
The options pits are buzzing with activity today, with 26,000 calls and 35,000 puts traded so far, which is 22 times the volume typically seen at this point. Most active is the weekly 10/25 300-strike call, followed by the 290-strike put in that series, with positions being opened at both.
Bearish bets have been growing in popularity over the last two weeks. This per McDonald’s stock’s 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.17 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 90% of annual readings.