Stephen Powers of UBS Is Bullish On PepsiCo

Stephen Powers of UBS said on

that he has a buy rating on PepsiCo, Inc.

with a price target of $100. He explained that a first half of this year has shown the evidence that PepsiCo has turned a corner. The company has a lot of strength in its North American business and in international snacks business. International beverages is holding on its own and it is beating the competition. Mr. Powers thinks that the momentum in the North American beverage business is building through productivity efforts which will be visible in the bottom line instead of the top line. He also believes that Nelson Peltz's efforts are going to be crucial for the performance of this stock and he sees his presence as a positive pressure on the board to keep up the performance. PepsiCo had a good year-to-date in comparison with The Coca-Cola Company

, who lagged, added Mr. Powers.He believes that investors stand a better chance with Pepsi than with Coke because Pepsi is creating opportunities for itself independent of the environment in which it is operating. Coke is playing the same cards that it has been playing for years and in environment that is getting tougher it is hard to see how the stock breaks out, thinks Stephen Powers.