Morgan Stanley Raises Its PT On Monsanto To $77; Retains Its Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley is retaining its Overweight rating and increasing the price target on Monsanto MON from $70 to $77 per share. It is not making material changes to the Base Case EPS estimates at the point, but believe the stock will likely grind to its price target by F2Q11 reporting, scheduled for April 6. Morgan Stanley sees this as a function of ~$6 corn, which increases Monsanto's earnings power; and a further lack of negative order book scuttlebutt from the channel. Should Monsanto deliver on its F2011 order book at F2Q11, Morgan Stanley believes valuation can move towards its $95 Bull Case. MON is trading higher at $71.31