Why Mosaic Stock Flopped on Friday
Key Points
One pundit tracking the agricultural products specialist downgraded her recommendation on its equity.
For her, the stock is now only a hold.
- 10 stocks we like better than Mosaic ›
A post-earnings analyst recommendation downgrade didn't do any favors for Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) at the end of the trading week. The crop nutrients producer's share price was dinged by more than 4% that day as a result.
Knocked down a peg
That morning, Kristen Owen of Oppenheimer moved her Mosaic recommendation down one peg. It's now set at perform (hold, in other words), where previously Owen had flagged it as an outperform (buy). She also removed her $35-per-share price target on the agricultural products stock.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Image source: Getty Images.
It was no accident that Owen's move came one day after Mosaic published its preliminary fourth-quarter results. According to reports, the analyst felt the company underperformed during the period. While she's optimistic that it will continue to improve in terms of operating rate, she doesn't see any clear catalyst that would significantly improve the fundamentals.
Owen pointed out that weakness in Mosaic's customer base isn't limited to the U.S. Demand from clients in Brazil, a huge market in its own right, is also weak.
Growing along with the market
It almost goes without saying that the fortunes of pure-play agricultural input producers like Mosaic are reliant on crop production in the markets they serve. Like Owen, I don't see any sudden occurrences that would juice production, so perhaps it's wise to avoid the stock at the moment.
Should you buy stock in Mosaic right now?
Before you buy stock in Mosaic, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Mosaic wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $474,847!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,146,655!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 958% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 16, 2026.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
