1248 ET - Rising cocoa prices will hurt Hershey even more than they already are, Piper Sandler analysts say. "This year's cocoa crop had a good start in 2024, but has tapered off since on a severely dry November and December, risking a fourth deficit," say analysts Michael Lavery and Luke Maloney. Cocoa supply has struggled for years. But as the analysts note, a supply problem that used to be linked to weather issues is now linked to disease-driven tree loss, a less cyclical problem that doesn't bounce back like the weather. The analysts downgraded Hershey to underweight from neutral, and lowered its 2025 earnings forecast. Hershey shares are down 22% over the last year. (owen.tucker-smith@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2025 12:48 ET (17:48 GMT)
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