Jefferies Reiterates Hold Rating on Monsanto, 'Q3 Beat on Taxes'

In a report published on Tuesday, Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander reiterated a Hold rating and a price target of $110 on

. In the report, Jefferies stated, "Q3 EPS of $1.66 was $0.06 above consensus and our estimate, but pretax income was $0.04 below consensus. Monsanto reiterated the 2013E target of $4.50-$4.55 (vs. $4.58 consensus) and mid-teens growth in 2014E (vs. 16% consensus). Seeds & Genomics were $0.24 lower than forecast and Ag Productivity $0.11 above." Monsanto closed on Tuesday at $101.40.