UPDATE: JP Morgan Color on Monsanto PT Increase

JP Morgan, which raised its PT on shares of Monsanto Co. MON, is providing some color on the stock. “Monsanto is rebounding,” JP Morgan writes. “Operating profits in Seeds and Genomics should rise by more than 10% in F2011. The company improved soybean returns materially and upgraded its corn product portfolio. “Monsanto seems to have gained a point of domestic market share in corn seed and in soybeans. We raised our EPS forecast from $3.20 to $3.50 for F2012 as Roundup prices could move higher, given inflation in Chinese energy costs. Despite these positives, Monsanto is less compelling as an equity investment than the low multiple high free cash flow generating fertilizer companies, since it already sells at 20.1x projected F2012 EPS and 11.1x EBITDA.” Monsanto closed Wednesday at $70.26.