Shares of Monsanto (MON) soared on Wednesday after the company soundly beat earnings estimates and raised its outlook for the year.

The St. Louis, Mo.-based company reported profit of $556 million or $1.00 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to $256 million or 46 cents per share one year ago.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 59 cents per share according to Reuters.

The company revised its full-year outlook from a range of $4.20 to $4.40, to profit between $4.40 and $4.50 per share in 2009.

The company cited growth in its Latin American businesses, as well as increased sales of its herbicides and corn seed in Brazil and higher-than-expected sales of corn and soybean seed in the U.S. for the impressive results.

Shares of Monsanto jumped 15.45% or $11.31 and were trading at $84.53 per share on Monday, midday.