** 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))