Shares in chocolate and snacks maker Mondelez International (MDLZ) were looking less appetizing today after several analysts served up downgrades on its stock.
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High Cocoa Prices Remain a Concern
Bank of America lowered its price target on the Oreo, Dairy Milk and Ritz maker, to $65 from $78 although it did keep a Buy rating on the shares. It said that the company’s 2025 outlook was “disappointing” hit by a greater negative impact from the rise in cocoa prices than expected. Wells Fargo also took a bite out of Mondelez. It lowered the firm’s price target to $54 from $61 and kept an Equal weight on the shares. It expects the company’s EPS to come down low double digits in 2025 and high teens in 2026. It said Mondelez stock needs to “recalibrate to the realities of historical cocoa prices”.
Investors Should Focus on 2026
Piper Sandler also lowered the firm’s price target to $56 from $63 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. It was also perturbed by the company’s lower than expected guidance for 2025 but said investors had already shifted their attention to its 2026 outlook. Piper Sandler said that while its 2025 cocoa costs are locked, “2026 remains to be secured”. It believes that cocoa costs look unlikely to get much worse from current levels and were even likely to come down.
MDLZ shares were lower in early trading on Wednesday. Aside from the downgrades investor sentiment was also soured by the group’s mixed Q4 results on Tuesday. It announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.65, missing estimates of $0.66. Revenue of $9.60 billion fell short of Wall Street’s forecast of $9.64 billion. It blamed unprecedented ongoing cocoa cost inflation and now expects 2025 EPS to fall 10%.
Is MDLZ a Good Stock to Buy?
On TipRanks, MDLZ has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 12 Buy and 6 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $80. MDLZ stock’s consensus price target is $65.81 implying an 18.84% upside.
