After The Monsanto Downgrade, Where Else Can Traders Look?

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) shares were down on December 23 following Miller Tabak's decision to downgrade the stock from Buy to Neutral.

Earlier this month, the stock received another downgrade from Monness Crespi Hardt.

Given this sentiment, are there other options for traders?

EI Du Pont

In terms of size, E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE: DD) is the only direct competitor with a market cap ($67.9 billion) that's actually larger than Monsanto ($58.7 billion).

Analysts can’t seem to agree on the ratings, however.

On October 29, when the stock traded around $66.80, Barclays issued an Equal Weight recommendation with a $72 price target, while Citigroup and Deutsche Bank reiterated their Buy ratings, accompanied by $78 price targets.

The latter implied a 16 percent upside potential at the time and still leaves room for a 4 percent increase from the current stock price.

Earlier this quarter, on October 8, RBC Capital initiated coverage on the stock with a Sector Perform rating and a $71 price target. As of this writing, the stock is trading around $75.

Related Link: Top 4 Small Cap Stocks In The Agricultural Chemicals Industry

Syngenta

Unlike Monsanto and Du Pont, Syngenta AG (ADR) (NYSE: SYT) ($30.5 billion market cap) has had a tough year; its stock has lost more than 18 percent year-to-date.

Recent ratings are scarce; only Jefferies issued a recommendation in the fourth quarter. The research firm reiterated its Hold rating on October 7 accompanied by a $70 price target, at which point the stock was trading around $61 to $62.

Although the stock has returned about 7 percent since that moment, there is still another 7 percent left in perceived upside.

Potash

Finally, there’s Potash Corp./Saskatchewan (USA) (NYSE: POT) with a market cap of $29.75 billion. The stock is up about 8.8 percent year-to-date, and analysts see it going further.

On December 19, UBS upgraded the stock from a Neutral to a Buy, and earlier in the month, JP Morgan promoted it from Neutral to Overweight, raising its price target from $34 to $40 on the back of fundamentals and a projected free cash flow boost.

In November, Raymond James raised its rating on Potash from Market Perform to Outperform with a $40 price target.

Shares trade just below $36 as of this writing.

Image credit: Perry McKenna, Flickr