Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein has maintained their neutral stance on PEP stock, giving a Hold rating today.
Robert Ottenstein has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors affecting PepsiCo’s performance. The company has been experiencing difficulties since 2024, leading to several downward revisions in guidance, primarily due to weaknesses in its FLNA segment. Consumer demand is under pressure, and despite ongoing productivity efforts, the company is struggling to meet its long-term growth targets for organic sales and earnings per share.
Additionally, various external factors such as tariffs, foreign exchange rates, and interest expenses are posing challenges that PepsiCo cannot fully counterbalance this year. The weak consumer environment, coupled with health agendas and regulatory challenges, particularly impact the FLNA segment, further dampening the outlook. While there are some positive trends, like improved brand performance in certain areas, the overall uncertainty and lack of visibility into future growth prospects justify the Hold rating.
In another report released today, Barclays also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $143.00 price target.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 30 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of PEP in relation to earlier this year.