** Shares of U.S. packaged food makers J.M. Smucker SJM.N and Kraft Heinz KHC.O fall about 1% each premarket after brokerage Morgan Stanley downgrades its ratings
** Says companies face rising competitive risk as value-focused pricing, promotions and private-label gains reaccelerate into 2026, adding to soft sales trends
** Notes U.S. low and middle-end consumers remain under pressure, raising incremental risk to pricing power, market share and margin recovery expectations
** Downgrades KHC to "underweight" from "equal-weight", says co faces acute risk given private -label penetration, limited profit flexibility compared to peers
** SJM moved to "equal-weight" from "overweight", as recent share outperformance leaves less upside as competitive risks build
** In 2025, SJM fell ~11%, KHC down ~21%
** Brokerage also cuts PTs for the following packaged foods companies:
Company | Current PT | Prior PT |
Kraft Heinz | $24 | $27 |
J. M. Smucker | $105 | $115 |
Conagra Brands CAG.N | $18 | $19 |
BellRing Brands BRBR.N | $32 | $41 |
Campbell's Co CPB.O | $28 | $30 |
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru )
((Sanskriti.Shekhar@thomsonreuters.com))
