SunTrust Says K-Cup Sales Rose 39% Over First Three Weeks of December

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's William Chappell offered some Nielsen-tracked data on sales of Green Mountain's

K-Cup for the four-week period ending Dec. 22nd. K-Cup sales rose nearly 39 percent from the same period last year. Sales were up about 54 percent over November. Chappell said this deceleration was expected given the tough comps Green Mountain has faced following the Starbucks rollout last year. K-Cup pricing was up 0.6 percent on a year-over-year basis. The SunTrust analyst said the rise in pricing was probably due to customers trading up to higher-priced K-Cups. Systemwide K-Cup sales rose 48.6 percent over the period. SunTrust maintains a Buy rating and $45 price target on shares of Green Mountain.