PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.44% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Barclays increased their target price on PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.28.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.8%

PepsiCo stock opened at $167.53 on Wednesday. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $168.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $147.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,652 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after buying an additional 1,079,970 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,301,240,000 after buying an additional 86,695 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,833,406,000 after buying an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at about $2,330,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and reiterated guidance — PepsiCo topped EPS and revenue estimates for Q4 and kept FY2026 guidance intact, which underpins investor confidence in near-term results. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — A number of banks raised targets and/or ratings after the quarter (notable raises: UBS to $190, Morgan Stanley to $180, JPMorgan to $176, HSBC to $175), signaling improved sell‑side sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large $10B buyback approved — Board authorized $10 billion in repurchases (≈4.7% of shares), which supports EPS and signals management confidence in valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Quarterly dividend raised to $1.4225 (5% YoY), keeping Pepsi in the Dividend Kings camp and attractive to income investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Productivity/efficiency tailwinds — Management is leaning on automation, distribution integration and SKU rationalization to offset inflation and expand margins, which analysts and outlets flag as a catalyst for EPS expansion. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic repositioning highlighted — MarketBeat and others note Pepsi is focusing on top brands, health-oriented SKUs and distribution tests (no full refranchising). These are longer-term actions that support the thesis but require execution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Snack price cuts / consumer backlash — Pepsi will cut prices on certain US snacks (reports cite up to 15%) to drive volumes; this is framed as a “price investment” but risks near-term margin dilution and has drawn critical press and analyst scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary on margin trade-off — Some analysts/commentators argue recent multiple expansion prices in a recovery that may require trading margin certainty for volume growth, raising execution risk for new buyers. Read More.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.