** Shares of chocolate maker Hershey HSY.N down 3.3% at $139.99 premarket
** Brokerage TD Cowen cuts PT on stock to $133 from $172 on cocoa inflation
** Peer Mondelez MDLZ.O forecast a bigger-than-estimated drop in its annual profit after market close on Tuesday, on pressures from surging cocoa prices caused by a fall in its global supply
** Brokerage expects even bigger decline for HSY's profit due to co's higher exposure to chocolate-based products than MDLZ
** Sees HSY implementing higher pricing over the next 12 months to offset impact of cocoa inflation, compared to its "less aggressive" approach to pricing now vs MDLZ
** HSY is set to report Q4 results on Thursday
** 3 of 26 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 17 "hold" and 6 "sell" or lower; median PT of $68.50 - LSEG
** HSY fell ~9% in 2024
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru)
((Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com))
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