Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating on DuPont (DD)

Morgan Stanley is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Equal Weight rating on E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. D; it has a $59.00 price target on the stock, up from $56.00. The MS analysts cited the company's recent earnings results, noting that while some investors seemed somewhat annoyed by management commentary that $0.04-0.05 of the earnings beat in 1Q11 came from demand pull-forward in Ag & Nutrition, they see that as a minor offset to an otherwise solid quarter. Ag & Nutrition beat estimates even excluding that impact, and the analysts are thus raising their Performance Chemicals, Performance Materials and Safety & Protection estimates to $3.78, vs. management's new guidance range of $3.65-3.85. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “Trading on a 2012e P/E and EV/EBITDA multiple of 12.8x and 7.7x respectively, we see greater upside in other stocks in the sector.”