McDonald’s shares close higher on Tuesday, the stock becomes Nomura’s top pick in restaurant industry for 2018

McDonalds stock has reportedly become Nomura’s ”top pick” within the restaurant industry for 2018. The firm’s price target on the stock now stands at $190, a revision up from $180 previously.

McDonald’s shares closed higher for the third time in the past nine trading sessions on Tuesday. The stock went up 0.64% ($1.10) to $173.22, after touching an intraday high at $174.48, or a price level not seen since December 19th ($174.90).

In the week ended on December 31st the shares of the restaurant chain added 0.41% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the sixth gain out of seven weeks.

The stock has gained 0.64% so far during the current month, following a 0.09% increase in December. The latter has been a third straight month of gains.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed retailer gained 41.41%, following another 3.03% surge in 2016.

In a research note, Nomura Instinet analyst Mark Kalinowski cited the upcoming rollout of fresh beef menu items as well as the restaurant chain’s new Dollar menu as the major drivers behind customer traffic.

Additionally, the possibility of a stock split, the first one for McDonalds in over 20 years, may lure retail investors, the Nomura analyst noted.

Meanwhile, ongoing issues at major rival Subway are viewed as an additional opportunity for McDonalds to expand its share in the quick-service restaurant market.

According to CNN Money, the 28 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding McDonald’s Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $179.00, with a high estimate of $200.00 and a low estimate of $162.00. The median estimate is a 3.34% surge compared to the closing price of $173.22 on January 2nd.

The same media also reported that 20 out of 34 surveyed investment analysts had rated McDonald’s Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the McDonald’s stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $173.39
R2 – $173.55
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $173.72
R4 (Long Breakout) – $174.22
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $174.81
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $175.05

S1 – $173.05
S2 – $172.89
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $172.72
S4 (Short Breakout) – $172.22
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $171.63
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $171.39

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $172.16
R1 – $173.51
R2 – $174.89
R3 – $176.24
R4 – $177.58

S1 – $170.78
S2 – $169.43
S3 – $168.05
S4 – $166.66