McDonald's Up; Burger King Down

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Fast food is in the spotlight on Tuesday as McDonald's(MCD) is upgraded and Burger King(BKC) downgraded by an analyst.

McDonald's was lifted to outperform from neutral by Credit Suisse analyst Keith Siegner, citing potential earnings drivers like its international business.

"We do not believe estimates or valuation fairly reflect McDonald's ability to build upon already substantial 2008 and 2009 share gains through a several-year recovery period," he wrote in a note. "McDonald's will benefit from its unique ability to simultaneously appeal to both 'depressed' and 'recovering' consumers."

Siegner also boosted his price target to $71 from $69.

But Burger King's recent tension with franchisees led Siegner to downgrade the company to neutral from outperform. He also dropped his price target to $21 from $23.

Last last year Burger King franchisees sued the company over its $1 cheeseburger promotion, claiming the low price forced them to take a loss.

McDonald's will post its fourth-quarter results this Friday, while Burger King's results will come out on Feb. 4.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.

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