Monsanto Subsidiary To Upgrade Climate FieldView Platform

Monsanto Company’s (NYSE:MON) subsidiary, The Climate Corporation lately declared that it would be adding new features to its existing Climate FieldView digital agricultural podium. This is being done to assist farmers tackle unpredictability in fields and evaluate seed performance for discovering valuable insights.

Monsanto’s updated Climate FieldView platform would assist farmers understand the exclusive variability of their field and thus, help them modify agronomic practices to gain the most out of every seed planted. The subsidiary would be launching specialized tools for farmers in 2017. These instruments would aid farmers optimize inputs and assess crop performance for better productivity decisions. Also, seamless data connectivity would soon be improved for making the Climate Fieldview stand available to a larger strength of farmers in the United States.

Monsanto’s Climate FieldView platform would offer specialized yield analysis tools, advanced scripting facilities, zone-based nitrogen management lessons and improved data connectivity in 2017. Moreover, the new platform would be accessible across a wider geography in the upcoming fiscal year.

Insights

We beleive that the aforesaid announcement would support Monsanto’s innovation-based growth strategy. Share price of the company stood at $106.50 per share as of Aug 31, 2016, up 2.9% since its third-quarter fiscal 2016 release in Jun 29, 2016.

However, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), owing to several industry-specific headwinds. Negatives like economic slowdown in booming nations such as China, cyclical downturn of agricultural industry, low prices of agro products, strengthening U.S. dollar, devaluating Argentinean Peso and extensive industry rivalry are the major factors weighing over the company’s financial fundamentals in recent times. On grounds of these bearish factors, Monsanto projects earnings at the lower end of the range $4.40–$5.10 per share for fiscal 2016, predicting currency headwinds of 85 cents per share.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ) , Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) . All the three companies currently hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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