Perplexity AI predicts McDonald’s (MCD) stock price amid E. coli outbreak

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) stock price is crashing amid an E. coli bacteria outbreak with reported hospitalizations and deaths. Finbold turned to Perplexity Online AI for real-time web insights and a price prediction for McDonald’s stock as things develop.

According to multiple sources, the E. coli outbreak is related to one of McDonald’s flagship products, the Quarter Pounder burger. In particular, The Kobeissi Letter highlighted an over 10% crash right after the news, with ten hospitalizations and one death.

The MCD stock closed on Tuesday, October 22, at $292.72, consolidating a nearly 7% crash in 30 minutes. This massive crash came amid what looked like a positive 30-day price action for McDonald’s shares, breaking the uptrend down.

Perplexity AI: McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) stock price prediction

Notably, Perplexity Online has consulted four sources at our request, proving once again its capacity for real-time insights on stocks. Finbold had previously asked the AI for Nvidia and Apple price predictions, leveraging its unique web-scanning ability. 

This feature put Perplexity into a feared list of competing AI startups OpenAI does not want its investors to fund. Now, the model explored the recent E. coli outbreak and price crash with up-to-date analysis to predict McDonald’s stock price.

Perplexity AI’s bearish price prediction for McDonald’s stock

The dominating insights and headlines are currently bearish amid the E. coli outbreak and its negative repercussions, with prices crashing. According to Perplexity AI sources, this event can have a “significant short-term impact on consumer confidence and sales.”

Moreover, sources highlighted potentially increased operational costs for McDonald’s after the outbreak, creating further speculative pressure on prices.

“Bearish Prediction: The stock could drop further to around $270-$280 in the short term, due to the immediate impact of the E. coli outbreak on consumer confidence and operational costs.”

– Perplexity Online AI

Perplexity AI’s bullish scenario despite E. coli breakout

Still, some analysts believe McDonald’s will end up recovering from the losses after this E. coli breakout. This recovery would be backed by the company’s strong brand and operational resilience, looking at the mid- to long-term.

Essentially, MCD continues to show revenue growth, which is also expected for the second half of 2024. These expectations explain the price surge observed in the past few months and, especially in the last 30 days.

In closing, Baird, Bank of America, and Barclays have maintained positive outlooks on the stock, fueling a bullish price prediction.

“Bullish Prediction: The stock could recover to around $310-$320 by the end of 2024, driven by long-term growth prospects and operational resilience.”

– Perplexity Online AI

Therefore, while the E. coli outbreak could pose challenges to McDonald’s and pressure its stock down, analysts and sources gathered by Perplexity AI dispute the short-term bearish price prediction for MCD.