Monsanto Gains After Upgrade from J.P. Morgan

J.P Morgan upgraded shares of Monsanto MON from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $115 to $125. The upgrade comes one day after the company reported upbeat second quarter earnings. Analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas sees opportunities for Monsanto to create shareholder value including “increasing balance sheet leverage and splitting the company into parts.” The analyst noted the stocks recent underperformance since 2013 and pointed out “a seasonal trade in Monsanto often appears in August and September when the stock tends to swoon in advance of an unprofitable final quarter.” Shares are up 2.3 percent to $117.13 in Thursday's trading after posting modest gains on Wednesday.