UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating, Removes PT on Hershey Co. on Potential Russell Stover Deal

In a report published Monday, Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Grainger reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on

, but removed the $100.00 price target. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “The WSJ reported Friday that Hershey was among a number of companies who remain ‘in the running' to acquire privately-held Russell Stover (see Hershey, Yildiz and Private-Equity Firms Make Bids for Russell Stover, 5/16/14). The article also indicates that initial bids have exceeded $1 Bn, which would imply a mid-high teens EBITDA multiple based on prior WSJ reports (2/20/14) of $600 million in sales and ~$60 MM in EBITDA. Neither HSY nor the other companies mentioned in the article have commented on the report.” Hershey Co. closed on Friday at $96.62.