Conagra Brands upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley on defensive positioning

As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Pamela Kaufman upgraded Conagra Brands to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $45, up from $34. Supported by continued defensive market positioning and relatively stable fundamentals, she sees packaged food stocks sustaining their relative outperformance in 2023, Kaufman tells investors. For Conagra in particular, she thinks the company should benefit from increasing food-at-home consumption given its exposure to frozen dinners and she also expects "solid growth" in its snacks portfolio.