Monsanto CompanyMON

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Ben Johnson

Monsanto is a fierce competitor that continues to dominate a market that it essentially created more than a decade ago. Through its ongoing commitment to research and development and assertive capital allocation, the company has positioned itself to Read more

Bulls Say

Monsanto plans to launch its game-changing SmartStax corn trait package on over 4 million acres in 2010. We anticipate that rapid adoption of this technology will drive margin expansion and market share gains for the firm's corn business in the coming years.

Monsanto has received import approval for its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans in China. This clears the way for a large-scale commercial introduction of this extremely valuable trait in both the U.S. and South America--both of which export large quantities of soybeans to China.

Monsanto recently advanced its first-generation drought tolerance trait for corn to the final precommercialization phase within its research pipeline. Read more

Bears Say

The agricultural industry is facing increased regulatory scrutiny on all fronts. Whether it be the EPA the DOJ or any other government body, there is a chance that unfavorable legal actions could leave Monsanto facing higher costs or do harm to its competitive position.

While DuPont's DD Pioneer seed business has had some high profile stumbles as of late, this re-energized competitor has been able to gain some ground recently, picking up a few points of share in the U.S. corn seed market in 2009.

Negative public perception continues to plague Monsanto. If the public does not want to eat transgenic food, farmers will not buy the seeds. Read more

Strategy

Monsanto will continue to invest heavily in its R&D pipeline, leveraging its existing intellectual capital--and increasingly partnering with other research organizations--in order to expand its product Read more

Management

Hugh Grant was named chairman and CEO in 2003, and we believe he is leading Monsanto in the right direction. Grant has been with Monsanto for 28 years, last serving as COO for three years. Although the chairman and CEO roles have not been separated, Read more

Profile

Monsanto is the world's leading producer of seeds. The company's seed and genomics division combines advanced breeding and biotechnology traits to produce high-value-added Read more

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