Hershey hit with downgrade as cocoa prices touch record

Hershey shares have gained just 2.4% since the start of January, underperforming the S&P 500 Index and the large-cap consumer staples index. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: Hershey Co was downgraded at BNP Paribas Exane to “neutral” from “outperform” on Tuesday, citing the recent surge in cocoa prices that suddenly looks less transitory in nature.

Cocoa futures have more than doubled this year, climbing above US$10,000 per tonne for the first time ever before erasing gains and taking a breather from a historic rally.