Campbell Soup price target lowered to $49 from $52 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered the firm’s price target on Campbell Soup (CPB) to $49 from $52 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares after the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Sovos Brands (SOVO), the maker of Rao’s, Noosa Yoghurt, and Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods, for $23 per share. While the firm sees strategic benefits to this acquisition as it adds a complimentary brand with expansion into the premium pasta sauce segment its “enthusiasm is tempered by the financial implications of the deal” given a combination of relatively high pro-forma leverage and “modest anticipated accretion,” the analyst tells investors.