PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Jumps 1.2% – What’s Next?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price traded up 1.2% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $143.71 and last traded at $143.61. Approximately 6,848,973 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 8,247,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.88.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

These are some of the PEP headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to eliminate about 1,000 North American jobs as part of a turnaround focused on efficiency and simpler operations. If the changes deliver lasting cost savings and productivity gains, they could support margins. PepsiCo plans 1,000 North America job cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is introducing new seasonal flavors across Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Pepsi for the 2026 holiday season. The launches could support seasonal demand, though their sales impact is not yet clear. PepsiCo launches new holiday flavors
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent outlook article says Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic despite PepsiCo’s underperformance versus the broader market over the past year. PepsiCo stock outlook

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.28.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.71. The stock has a market cap of $193.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.31.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.08% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert Pohlad purchased 184,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $128.28 per share, with a total value of $23,686,388.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 433,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,546,394.52. This represents a 74.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,432,000 after buying an additional 4,489 shares during the period. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,062,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,520,000 after acquiring an additional 655,345 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 16.3% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in PepsiCo by 51.7% in the third quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 30,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.