Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage On Whole Foods Market

In a report released Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent J Sinisi initiates coverage on Whole Foods Market

giving the organic grocery retailer an Overweight rating, with a price target of $50 a share. Analysts at Morgan Stanley project Whole Foods comps and store growth to be in line with its EBIT margin expansion, influencing its sales and earnings to surpass other analysts expectations. Sinisi estimates Whole Foods 2015 EPS to be $1.77 ($0.04 above consensus) and an 2018 EPS projection of $2.86 ($0.19 above consensus). Morgan Stanley views Whole Foods to be on an upside skewness of risk/reward. Morgan Stanley's price target consists of $50 is given by the firms 2015 EPS projection giving an 28x multiple. Shares of Whole Foods close slightly lower Tuesday by 0.74 percent and down nearly 25 percent for the year to date.