NEW YORK - Shares of Tyson Foods Inc. surged on Jan. 14 as Robert Moskow of Credit Suisse upgraded the company and boosted its price target. He added Tyson’s stock still has room to go higher in the next six months, according to The Associated Press. Tyson’s stock has rallied 77% since hitting a 52-week low of $7.51 in March 2009.

"While we clearly missed the bottom on Tyson stock, it is still under-owned, unloved and in the early stages of a cyclical rebound in protein processing," Mr. Moskow wrote in a client note.


Tyson shares — the biggest gainer on the Standard & Poor's 500 index — rose 68 cents, or 5.1%, to $13.99 in midday trading and is approaching its 52-week high of $14.25, hit in May. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 96 cents to 1,144.72.

Tyson's stock could go 20% higher over the next six months as it faces minimal risk, Mr. Moskow said. He further predicts Tyson’s profit margins for chicken could climb as commodity chicken prices were better than his expectations in December and January and are up 17% for the year compared with 2009.

Tyson will announce its first-quarter earnings Feb. 5, and Moskow anticipates it will top Wall Street's expectations.

Mr. Moskow increased Tyson Foods' rating to "Outperform" from "Neutral" and lifted its price target to $16 from $13, AP concluded.