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☆ Cocoa prices just hit a record high. Here's what's driving the gains and what it means for chocolate makers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

If you think chocolate prices this Valentine's Day were more expensive than usual, it's not you. Year to date, futures contracts are up nearly 27%, with cocoa prices rising in six of the past seven weeks. Here's a breakdown of what's driving cocoa prices higher and how it impacts the investment case around two major chocolate stocks. Doshi thinks cocoa prices could sell off about 20%, taking them to around $4,500 to $4,800 per ton. In an interview with CNBC last week, he underscored the rising cocoa price outlook as the key driver for his lower rating.

Persons: Humza Hussain, El, Aakash Doshi, Doshi, Bernstein, Bruno Monteyne, … There's, Mondelez, Alexia Howard, Hershey, Michele Buck, Bernstein's Howard, Howard, I'd, Bryan Spillane, Morgan Stanley, Pamela Kaufman, Bank of America's Spillane Organizations: Asset Management, CNBC, Hershey, Citi, 2H, Street, Bank of America, Bank of, Cadbury Locations: Mondelez, El Niño, Ghana, Ivory, Nigeria, Europe

☆ These cheap turnaround candidates have 20% upside potential, says Jefferies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Technology-adjacent stocks outperformed in January, while cyclical sectors such as property and automobiles lagged behind, wrote Desh Peramunetilleke, Jefferies' global head of quantitative strategy. Another stock Peramunetilleke highlighted was automotive manufacturing firm General Motors , down 7% in the last year. The majority of analysts covering the name rate it as a buy, with consensus price targets estimating a nearly 28% upside for the stock. Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish on the name, with the average price target indicating a 17% upside for the stock. Other names belonging to Jefferies' basket of stocks with potential upside include Kinder Morgan , Starbucks , eBay and United Airlines .

Persons: Jefferies, Peramunetilleke, Hershey, AllianceBernstein, Alexia Howard, Morgan Stanley, Adam Jonas, Oppenheimer, Kinder, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Technology, Hershey, Motors, General Motors, Citi, Kinder Morgan, Starbucks, eBay, United Airlines Locations: USA, U.S

Some of the biggest analyst calls on Monday focused on a dollar store stock and a major U.S. airline. She assigned a $235 price target, which suggests shares could climb about 23.5%. The analyst maintained his buy rating and raised his price target by $30 to $455, which implies 15.4% potential upside from Friday's close. His $175 price target — down from $185 — implies 25.3% downside for the stock from Friday's close. The bank upgraded the airline to buy from neutral, raising its price target to $20 from $14.

Persons: Bernstein, Hershey, Alexia Howard, Howard, —, — Pia Singh, Jefferies, Brent Thill, Morgan Stanley, Norfolk, Ravi Shanker, Shanker, Raymond James Raymond James, Olivia Tong, Tong, Matthew Boss, Said, ̇, Boss, Stephen Trent, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, JPMorgan, Citi, American Airlines, Hershey, Meta, Norfolk, Colgate, Palmolive, CL, American Airlines American Airlines Locations: U.S, Norfolk Southern

☆ Weight-loss drugs' impact will happen very slowly, says Bernstein's Alexia Howard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWeight-loss drugs' impact will happen very slowly, says Bernstein's Alexia HowardAlexia Howard, senior research analyst at Bernstein, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the firm's upgrade of Kraft Heinz, investment opportunities in the rise of weight-loss drugs, and more.

Persons: Bernstein's Alexia Howard Alexia Howard, Bernstein, Kraft Heinz

Tuesday started with Nvidia getting more praise from one analyst, and a battery stock downgrade. She has a price target of $40 on shares, which suggests 20.3% upside potential from where shares closed on Monday. The firm initiated the stock with a buy rating and $125 price target, which suggests 7% upside from Monday's close. "3Q brings a narrative change in FREY's outlook with new risks to tech, strategy and funding that's been appropriately discounted by the stock market. He also slashed his price target to $2 from $13, which suggests 14.3% upside from Monday's close.

Persons: Tuesday, Morgan Stanley, Freyr, Paul Matteis, Matteis, Vistagen, — Hakyung Kim, BeautyHealth, Allen Gong, Gong, Benjamin Soff, Soff, Bernstein, Kraft Heinz, Alexia Howard, Howard, Miguel Patricio, Roth, Suji Desilva, Desilva, Morgan Stanley downgrades Freyr Battery Morgan Stanley isn't, that's, FREY, Adam Jonas, Jonas, Vivek Arya, — Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Nvidia, Bank of America, Therapeutics Biotechnology, Vistagen Therapeutics, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Rockstar, Kraft, Kraft Heinz, AMD, Investment, Freyr's, Nvidia Bank of America Locations: U.S, Monday's, Freyr's Norwegian

☆ With Ozempic on the rise, food companies develop a plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“If they switch to different types of nutrients … we switch to different types of nutrients,” he said. Drugs like Ozempic could change how people eat, affecting food sellers. Big food companies are constantly evolving their products to adapt to consumer trends. And with wellness top of mind for many — not just people taking semaglutide drugs — companies have already tweaked their products in an effort to appeal to health-conscious consumers. “And then what is the churn rate?” To adapt to a possible shift, companies should be “planning for different scenarios,” she said.

Persons: Sean Connolly, “, ” Connolly, ” Conagra, Duncan Hines, Marie Callender’s, Jaap Arriens, ”, Bernstein, Alexia Howard, ” Howard, John Furner, Morgan Stanley, Pamela Kaufman, Ding Dongs, Mark Smucker, Jody Dushay, “ Dieticians, Deidre McPhillips Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wall Street, Healthy, PepsiCo, Coca, Walmart, Bloomberg, CNN, Companies, Brands, Harvard Medical School Locations: New York

☆ Beyond Meat shares surge as cost controls bear fruit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Beyond Meat Inc (BYND.O) surged 13% in premarket trading on Friday as the plant-based meat maker's results indicated that its cost control measures were finally bearing fruit. At least three brokerages lifted their price targets on Beyond Meat's shares, after the company on Thursday topped expectations for quarterly sales for the first time since June 2021 and forecast annual revenue slightly above estimates. Beyond Meat's shares have slumped about 65% in the past twelve months, hammered by a string of downbeat results and forecast cuts stemming from collapsing demand for faux meat and elevated levels of freight and raw material costs. "Beyond Meat deserves credit for becoming more disciplined regarding profits and cash," J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said. Still, analysts cautioned that demand for plant-based meat remained weak, and that Beyond Meat faced a long road to profitability.

☆ Kraft Heinz turns to gimmicks and nostalgia to revive its ‘dusty’ brands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Because they’re incredible.”More than half of Kraft Heinz’s business comes from just eight brands — the aforementioned three, plus Kraft Mac and Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Heinz, Lunchables and Ore-Ida. For Kraft Heinz, which is relying on Patricio to execute a comeback, there’s a lot on the line. So we have more loyalty.”For that reason, Kraft Heinz has leaned in to promoting its legacy brands — and with sometimes outrageous marketing. Kraft HeinzOther Kraft Heinz brands have also used attention-grabbing marketing campaigns. Kraft Heinz’s brands now have a presence on gaming platforms like Roblox, in addition to social media channels and other platforms.

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