|
|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads |  |
MAY 14, 2007
Betting The Farm On Monsanto  Wall street analysts are trying to keep up with Monsanto's (MON
) fast-growing sales and earnings as a major provider of agricultural products for farmers. Robert Levitt, founder and chief investment officer of Levitt Capital Management, which owns Monsanto shares, says investors should jump on the "global agribusiness theme" to profit from the explosive growth he sees over the next several decades. He says the U.N. estimates that by 2030 demand for agricultural products will be 60% higher than it is today. And Monsanto, says Levitt, is among the big winners. "There are now 80 million new mouths to feed every year," he notes, so food production will have to grow as fast. "Monsanto is the undisputed leader in the agri-biotech space," says Robert Koort of Goldman Sachs (GS
) (it has done banking for Monsanto), who rates the stock a buy. Apart from farmers, Monsanto's products are used by grain processors, food companies, and consumers. Its product pipeline "is sufficiently robust," he says in a report, which justifies the stock's premium multiple of 34 times his 2007 estimate of $1.70 a share. For 2008, he sees $2.50. He expects the stock, now at 58.51, to be at 75 in 18 months.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.  By Gene G. Marcial
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Buy a link now! Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2007, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version