Coca-Cola named Top Pick in beverages at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is raising Coca-Cola (KO) back again to Top Pick in beverages from the prior timing-driven stop-out and naming the stock the analyst’s Top Pick overall in North American consumer staples. From a sector standpoint, the firm prefers beverages, where it sees better pricing power and greater innovation contribution, with pricing “an even more important factor” as high inflation is likely to linger with the Iran conflict, the analyst tells investors. The firm has an Overweight rating and $87 price target on Coke shares.