Investors looking for exposure to the growing plant-based food space should look at SunOpta , according to Cowen. Analyst Brian Holland, who has a buy rating on the stock, named SunOpta a top pick, noting that an investor meeting with the company CEO and CFO instilled confidence in the firm’s growth prospects as it gains market share. “We have increased conviction in our near and long term forecasts, owing to SunOpta’s ability to leverage strong secular trends and its own high barriers to entry. Specifically, the company’s agnostic posture and capital execution is affording strong growth sight lines underappreciated by the market,” Holland wrote in a Sunday note. “As such, the delta between SunOpta’s prospects and its plant based compares grows wider,” Holland wrote. Resilient demand and increased market share in spite of rising inflation, as well as growing capacity, has the analyst bullish on SunOpta. According to the note, the company is not seeing much of a trade down from consumers, as the price of cow’s milk is rising faster than plant-based substitutes, and private label is falling behind brands. The stock is up 38% this year. “Importantly, SunOpta plant based volume +17% Y/Y in 2Q22 was aided by new business development (new customers, new products for existing customers), underscoring competitive moats—in particular, certainly of supply which management said is customers’ primary concern,” the analyst wrote. The company is also adding a Texas facility that will add to capacity, according to the note. Cowen’s $15 price target for SunOpta represents 55.9% upside from Friday’s closing price of $9.62. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
