Morgan Stanley Prefers Investing In Whoppers Over Big Macs

On Monday John Glass of Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Burger King Worldwide BKW while simultaneously downgrading shares of McDonald's. MCD According to Glass, Burger King Worldwide, along with its recently acquired Tim Hortons are best positioned to be “among the fastest international growers in restaurants.” McDonald's on the other hand, continues to experience “weakening fundamentals, punctuated by sharp market share loss in the U.S. and idiosyncratic international pressures.” UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Upgrades Burger King Worldwide Inc Shares of Burger King were upgraded to Overweight from Equal-weight with a $38 price target and are attractive following a recent pull back of around 13 percent since its post- Tim Hortons merger announcement highs. Shares of McDonald's were downgraded to Equal-weight from Overweight with a price target lowered to $96 from a previous $102. The analyst notes that shares are currently valued without a “compelling upside story” but the 3.6 percent dividend yield protects investors from a “significant downside risk.” Related: UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades McDonald's Corporation Shares of Burger King were trading higher by 1.55 percent late Monday morning following the upgrade while shares of McDonald's were trading lower by 0.70 percent at the same time.