Coca-Cola Stock (KO) Gets Multiple Upgrades as the Company Moves Into ‘Protein Shakes’

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• Wall Street brokerages Morgan Stanley and Jefferies have each upgraded the stock of Coca-Cola.

• The upgrades come as Coke pushes into the market for protein shakes.

Several Wall Street analysts have upgraded the stock of Coca-Cola KO +1.23% ▲ as the company expands into protein shakes that are popular with consumers.

Wall Street firms Morgan Stanley MS +1.45% ▲ and Jefferies Financial Group JEF +2.64% ▲ have each upgraded KO stock as the company diversifies from its sugary soft drinks and moves into products that are deemed by the public to be healthier beverages.

Jefferies has raised its price target on Coca-Cola’s stock to $90 from $87 previously and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The brokerage is bullish on Fairlife, Coke’s line of lactose-free milk and protein shakes, as consumers adopt healthier diets.

Morgan Stanley’s View of KO Stock

Morgan Stanley went so far as to name Coca-Cola its “Top Pick” in beverages, and its “Top Pick” overall among North American consumer staples stocks. The investment bank placed a Buy-equivalent overweight rating and an $87 price target on KO stock.

From a sector standpoint, the firm prefers beverages, where it sees better pricing power and greater innovation contribution, with pricing “an even more important factor” as high inflation is likely to linger with the Iran conflict, the analyst tells investors.

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