Morgan Stanley Sees Mixed Factors for The Coca-Cola Company

In a report published Tuesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on The Coca-Cola Company KO. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “Sentiment on KO is very negative and expectations are low around the company's ability to generate improved top-line growth with higher marketing. However, we still struggle to get excited about the stock as we believe long-term trends will be limited by slower category growth, near-term consensus EPS estimates look high, and more attractive valuation with relative multiple compression still does not look compelling. Despite our concerns, we think much easier comparisons in 2Q-4Q could buoy the stock (after 1Q is digested) as even a short-term topline rebound would likely be well received. Net, we remain Equal-weight.” The Coca-Cola Company closed on Monday at $38.62.