Monsanto's Stock Rallies After Profit And Sales Rise Above Expectations

Monsanto Co.'s stock rallied 0.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the agricultural products company reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations. Net profit for the quarter to May 31 rose to $843 million, or $1.90 a share, from $717 million, or $1.63 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.93, above the FactSet consensus of $1.76. Revenue increased to $4.23 billion from $4.19 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $4.18 billion, as better-than-expected soybean seed and traits, cotton seed and traits and agricultural productivity sales offset a miss in corn seed and traits. The company affirmed its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook of being at the high end of the $4.50-to-$4.90 range. The stock has run up 11.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.1%.