Opinion on  Monsanto Company (MON)     Sector: Basic Materials  >  Industry: Chemical Manufacturing
Monsanto Co.

Monsanto Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides agricultural products for farmers principally in the United States. It operates in two segments, Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity. The Seeds and Genomics segment produces corn, soybeans, canola, and cotton seeds, as well as vegetable and fruit seeds, including tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, beans, broccoli, onions, and lettuce. This segment also develops biotechnology traits that assist farmers in controlling insects and weeds, as well as provide genetic material and biotechnology traits to other seed companies for their seed brands. The Agricultural Productivity segment manufactures glyphosate-based, acetanilide-based, and other selective herbicides; lawn-and-garden herbicides for residential lawn-and-garden applications; and bovine somatotropin to increase efficiency of milk production in dairy cows. The company offers its products under the Roundup Ready, YieldGard, Agroceres, Asgrow, DEKALB, D&PL, Deltapine, Vistive, Seminis, Royal Sluis, Petoseed, Posilac, and Bollgard and Bollgard II brand names. It also licenses germplasm and trait technologies to seed companies in the United States and international markets. The company sells its products through distributors, independent retailers, dealers, agricultural co-operatives, plant raisers, and agents to farmers, agricultural chemical producers, and dairy farmers. Monsanto Company has a joint venture with Cargill, Incorporated to commercialize a proprietary grain processing technology under the name Extrax, as well as has a research and development collaboration with BASF in plant biotechnology that focuses on high-yielding crops and crops that are tolerant to adverse conditions, such as drought. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Monsanto Co. (NYSE:MON) operates independently of Pharmacia Corporation as of August 13, 2002.

Analysts'  Recommendation:	Buy
30 Days Ago:	Buy
Analysts' Target:	$152
Members' Target:

Analysts' Targets
Credit Suisse	$145
Reduce
Thursday, June 26, 2008
UBS Securities	$154
Add
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Soleil Group	$187
Buy
Friday, June 06, 2008
Jefferies & Co.	$152
Buy
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Lehman Brothers	$120
Underweight
Friday, January 04, 2008

Monsanto Co.   has been pleasing its shareholders by producing record sales and executing its share buy-back program. The company's third-quarter results were awesome, including a big jump in both revenue and earnings. Monsanto has also increased its international exposure through the acquisiton of a Guatemalan seed company.
Company Description

Monsanto Co. is a specialty seed producer and residential lawn care product provider. The company has a history dating back to 1901 before being spun off as an independent company in 2002. Monsanto carries a market cap of over $64 billion.

A Record Setting Quarter

Monsanto announced excellent third-quarter results on June 25 that included record net sales of $3.6 billion, up 26% from this time last year. Net income spiked to $811 million, up from $570 million in the same quarter last year, an 83% increase. This produced earnings of $1.45 per share, topping analyst estimates of $1.35 per share.

Positive Outlook

With a great quarter on the books, Monsanto raised its full-year guidance and now anticipates more than doubling its gross profits by 2012. It has also increased its divided to 24 cents per share, up from 17.5 cents last quarter. The company has repurchased $429 million of the $800 million in shares it intends to repurchase by October 2009.

World Wide Regulatory Approval l

The company's newest product is on pace to hit the market in 2009 as scheduled based on regulators' approval in Australia and Mexico, as well as a positive scientific opinion in Europe. Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans, will provide farmers increased crop yields though superior weed control.

Good Position in the Industry

The company's ROE, 22.43%, trumps the industry average of 7.79%. Monsanto's projected growth for next year of 28.5% is about 2.5 times the projected growth rate of it's peers.

Aquisition in Central America

Earlier this month Monsanto completed the acquisition of Semillas Cristiani Burkard, the leading seed company in the Latin American Tropics. SCB was headquartered in Guatemala and had relationships with over 900 regional dealers. The acquisition expanded Monsanto's world wide reach further into Central America.

Expanding its Facilities

Monsanto announce on April 2nd, it will be expanding it's Luling, Louisiana plant, which will increase the facilities Roundup herbicide production by 20%.