Nutrien (NTR) Soars 7.2%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?

Nutrien (NTR) shares soared 7.2% in the last trading session to close at $101.90. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 26.4% gain over the past four weeks.

Nutrien shares moved up as an analyst from Piper Sandler upgraded the recommendation to overweight from neutral and hiked the target price to $112. Per the analyst, the upgrade is driven by long-term secular trends for the grains and shorter-term issues caused by sanctions, production restrictions, energy allocation issues and the Russia/Ukraine conflict, which affect nutrient and grain markets. The analyst stated that the outlook is tied to the long-term outlook for the grain market, which supports higher fertilizer prices in the long term.

This producer of potash and other fertilizers is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.51 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +765.5%. Revenues are expected to be $7.94 billion, up 70.4% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Nutrien, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.9% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on NTR going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Nutrien belongs to the Zacks Fertilizers industry. Another stock from the same industry, CF Industries (CF), closed the last trading session 5.3% higher at $97.25. Over the past month, CF has returned 26.4%.

CF's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +6.1% over the past month to $4.07. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +481.4%. CF currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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