What Prompted Morgan Stanley to Downgrade Mosaic?
Wall Streets analysts’ ratings
Earlier in this series, we saw that Morgan Stanley downgraded Mosaic (MOS) to “equal-weight” from “overweight” on March 16 with a price target of $29. What’s the consensus rating and price target on the stock?
Analysts’ ratings
Out of the 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, eight analysts or 36%, had a “buy” rating on Mosaic while 50% have a “hold” rating. Only 14% of the surveyed analysts had a “sell” rating on the company. More analysts have a “hold” rating for the company. The trend is similar for Potash Corporation (POT) and Israel Chemicals (ICL).
Intrepid Potash (IPI) has a 43% “sell” rating. The company is almost heading towards bankruptcy. Analysts are split in half between “buy” and “sell” for Agrium (AGU).
Price target
For the next 12 months, analysts’ consensus estimates for Mosaic stand at $28.3. This is below its closing price of $29.1 on March 16. With the consensus already around ~$28 price levels, Morgan Stanley’s revised price target of $29 seems to have caught up with the consensus. Potash Corporation also closed below its 12-month price target at $17.4 on the same day. Agrium closed at $93. It was above its 12-month price target.
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For more updates on fertilizer companies, please visit Market Realist’s Agricultural Fertilizers page.
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