Coke Adds Fizz With Upgrade

Coca-Cola (KO) shares have been rising this week following an analyst upgrade. Morgan Stanley moved Coke from equal weight to overweight and retained a price target of 47, which would mark an all-time high for the stock, trading now near 43. Coke was a growth stock in the 1990s, but it topped at 44.47 in July 1998. Although earnings have grown since then, the stock is just now getting back to its former high.

The five-year annualized EPS growth rate is 7% with an Earnings Stability Factor of 3 on a scale where low numbers correspond to the most steady earnings growth. But analysts don't see much growth ahead. Earnings and revenue were flat from a year ago in the most recent quarterly report, and analysts are forecasting a 7% drop in the next quarterly report. They see a 2% EPS drop for 2014 and flat earnings for this year.

Source: NASDAQ

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