Soleil Raises Price Target on Monsanto from $145 to $160 (MON)

Soleil Securities Group raises its price target on Monsanto (NYSE: MON) from $145 to $160 and maintains a Buy rating.

The firm raised its FY08 EPS estimate from $3.05 to $3.40 after Monsanto boosted guidance about 17% yesterday (from $2.70-$2.80 to $3.15-$3.25), sending shares higher by 10%. In addition, Monsanto's stronger outlook caused other top players in the ag sector to rally: Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) jumped nearly 6%, Potash (NYSE: POT) rose about 4% and shares of Agrium (NYSE: AGU) moved about 5% higher.

Interestingly, Soleil said it believes "more research & development is the real story", referring to Monsanto's higher R&D spending moving into 2009. The firm said, "Given higher R&D spend to increase the present value of its long-duration R&D pipeline, our concern over multiple compression in ag names doesn't apply to Monsanto."

Soleil's $160 price target on Monsanto represents a 40% potential gain from yesterday's closing price of $114.54.

Monsanto Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides agricultural products for farmers principally in the United States. [BCS]

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