Barclays says McDonald’s to underperform in near term but time will heal wounds

Barclays keeps an Overweight rating and $325 price target on McDonald’s (MCD) following today’s reports of and E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The firm notes that the near-term impact to consumer confidence, restaurant fundamentals, and stock performance can be material as food safety is the #1 priority in the restaurant industry, though “using history as a guide”, Barclays believes that time will likely “heal these wounds.”