Coca-Cola shares fall for a second straight session on Thursday, Costa Coffee acquisition approved by EU antitrust regulators

The European Commission announced on Thursday that it had cleared Coca-Cola Companys GBP 3.9 billion acquisition of Costa Coffee from Whitbread Plc.

Coca-Cola shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Thursday. The stock went down 0.62% ($0.29) to $46.64, after touching an intraday low at $46.55, or a price level not seen since December 27th ($46.03).

Shares of Coca-Cola surged 3.20% in 2018 compared with a 6.24% drop for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Coca-Colas stock went up 10.66%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

The EU regulatory authority reached a conclusion that no competition concerns would be raised as a result of the proposed deal, since the two companies do not sell the same products and the links between their business activities are limited.

Costa Coffee operates coffee shops and hot beverage vending machines mostly in the United Kingdom, Ireland as well as in Poland and sells packaged, roast and ground coffee and other ingredients. The company has 3 882 stores, with more than 2 400 of them being located in the United Kingdom.

According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Coca-Cola’s stock price, have a median target of $51.00, with a high estimate of $64.00 and a low estimate of $47.00. The median estimate represents a 9.35% upside compared to the closing price of $46.64 on January 3rd.

The same media also reported that 12 out of 26 surveyed investment analysts had rated Coca-Cola Company’s stock as “Buy”, while other 12 – as “Hold”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Coca-Cola Company (KO) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $46.96
R1 – $48.25
R2 – $49.31
R3 – $50.60
R4 – $51.90

S1 – $45.90
S2 – $44.61
S3 – $43.55
S4 – $42.50