Why Monsanto (MON) Stock is Higher Today
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Monsanto (MON) are advancing by 0.73% to $98.63 as Bayer's (BAYRY) exploration of a possible bid for the St. Louis-based company spurred speculation that it could sell some assets to help fund a deal, Bloomberg reports.
The deal would create the world's largest seeds and farm chemicals supplier.
Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer has held preliminary talks internally and with advisers about buying Monsanto, which has a market value of about $43 billion, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
"If Bayer is ready to put up the billions, then voila! That's the real issue here," Lutz Krafft, a former Bayer executive and now senior agricultural adviser at ChemAdvice, told Bloomberg, "The effects on Bayer's balance sheet and the integration of the company are the two challenges."
Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Hold" rating with a score of C+ on the stock.
The primary factors that have impacted the rating are mixed. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its expanding profit margins and notable return on equity.
However, the team also finds weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, feeble growth in the company's earnings per share and generally higher debt management risk.
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: MON
