In the battle of burritos versus burgers, there can be only one winner.
As McDonald's has fallen to a seven-month low following the departure of CEO Steve Easterbrook, Chipotle has soared. The Mexican fast casual chain has gained 73% this year, while McDonald's has added just 8%.
Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, says one looks better than the other right now.
"Chipotle looks much more compelling on the chart," Maley said on CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Monday. "Look at Chipotle — it broke above its old highs earlier in the year and that old resistance level has become new support."
"It's got right back down to that support level, so if it breaks below it's going to be somewhat negative," he added. "However, if you look on a longer-term basis going back a couple of years, it's still well above its any kind of multiyear trend line so a breakdown here would not be the end of the world."
The charts on McDonald's look more tenuous to Maley after its recent breakdown.
"However, McDonald's is much different. It's very similar in that it broke to new highs this year. It rolled back over. That old resistance is now new support. However, just below that new support here, just below $189, is also its multiyear trend line going back to 2016. So any breakdown from here would be very, very negative on a technical basis," said Maley.
McDonald's has one ace up its sleeve that could propel transformational growth over the long term, though, according to Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management.
"McDonald's is really underestimated in its possibility for alternative meat, especially in outside markets like India where that growth could be tremendous. I don't think there's any fast-food company positioned better to take advantage of that trend," Schlossberg said during the same segment. "They do have all the systems in place to really make a huge go at it. So to me, I think any kind of a serious dip here is very much a long-term buying opportunity."
