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Fly News Breaks for April 22, 2015
SYT, DD, MON, AGU
Apr 22, 2015 | 06:17 EDT
Citigroup downgraded Agrium (AGU) to Sell saying recent calls from Monsanto (MON), DuPont (DD) and Syngenta (SYT) indicate crop protection inventories are high. In addition, Citi notes any shift to soybeans from corn is incrementally negative for Agrium's retail business as soybeans use 30% less crop protection chemicals per acre. The firm now views Agrium's 2015 guidance as a "bit aggressive" and thinks the higher end of the $7.00-$8.50 range is likely to come down. Citi thinks Agrium shares are likely to underperform and cut its price target for the stock to $95 from $111. The producer of nutrients for agricultural markets closed yesterday up 75c to $105.14.