By Sam Boughedda
An Atlantic Equities analyst maintained an Overweight rating and $72 price target on Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) in a research note released Wednesday, providing bullish commentary on the shares.
He told investors that shares of Coca-Cola have performed well on an absolute and relative basis this year, with the company delivering "strong sales growth as consumer behavior has normalized after restrictions that disrupted the Away From Home channel were lifted, China aside."
Coca-Cola shares have gained 0.5% during today's session, adding to their more than 6% gains in 2022.
"As other companies face spiralling cost pressures, KO has been relatively immune with sales running ahead of cost growth YTD. More importantly, we have seen signs of improving operational performance in categories, channels and regions following the significant changes undertaken by the company during FY20," wrote the analyst.
"These tailwinds combined with the global beverage category's attractive dynamics and a more asset-light, less capital-intense KO, as bottler divestments continue, underscore the long-term attractiveness of KO as an investment," he added.