McDonald's Bounces Back, Short Sellers Feel Pressure

McDonald's is rebounding on Thursday morning after a brutal day on Wednesday. The stock was down as much as 6.5% intraday before closing at $238.32, its worst single-day decline since 2022.

The bounce is putting pressure on short sellers who piled a record high of 2.71 million shares onto the stock on Wednesday. With total outstanding short interest at just 1.7%, this isn't a classic short squeeze, but intraday shorts are now nursing losses.

Analysts remain bearish on McDonald's, with BTIG Research cutting its price target to $295 from $350 while keeping a buy rating.