An employee delivers cases of Coca-Cola Co. brand soda in Miami Beach, Florida.
Scott McIntyre | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Goldman Sachs lowered its rating for Coca-Cola shares to sell from neutral, saying the company's earnings results will come in below expectations in the coming year.
"KO's sales growth is also likely to again be sub-par in 2017, as we see its organic sales growth continuing to lag the global non-alcoholic beverage category given a portfolio mix that still skews to slower-growth categories," analyst Judy Hong wrote in a note to clients Monday. "We expect KO to be a relative underperformer in staples again in 2017 based on downside risk we see to consensus estimates on refranchising/FX headwind to EPS."
Hong lowered her Coca-Cola price target to $39 from $41, representing 7 percent downside from Friday's close.
