Nestle Receives First ‘Sell’ Ratings Since April

Nestle SA was rated “reduce” by Nomura Holdings Inc. and “underperform” by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, its first sell recommendations since April, because of concern that earnings growth won’t meet estimates.

David Hayes, a London-based Nomura analyst, said Nestle may miss sales and profitability targets this year. Robert Waldschmidt, an analyst in London at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said the Swiss franc’s gains on currency markets and higher commodity costs will cut into Nestle’s profit growth. Both banks previously recommended buying Nestle stock.