Pepsi Stock In Focus As FTC Sues Consumer Giant For Alleged Price Discrimination: Retail’s Cautious

Sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘neutral’ compared to ‘bullish’ a week ago.

Shares of PepsiCo ($PEP) were in the spotlight on Friday after the Federal Trade Commission announced it plans to sue the consumer giant on allegations of price discrimination, with retail sentiment turning cautious.

The FTC reportedly alleged that Pepsi violated the Robinson-Patman Act, which bans companies from giving its buyers different prices for the same product or commodity.  Pepsi reportedly gave Walmart more favorable prices, CNBC reported.

Pepsi has reportedly denied the allegations and said the FTC’s lawsuit is wrong, both factually and legally.
Sentiment 
on Stocktwits was ‘neutral’ compared to ‘bullish’ a week ago. Message volumes were in the ‘low’ zone.

“PepsiCo strongly disputes the FTC’s allegations, and the partisan manner in which the suit was filed. We will vigorously present our case in court,” Pepsi told CNBC. “PepsiCo’s practices are in line with industry norms and we do not favor certain customers by offering discounts or promotional support to some customers and not others.”

Pepsi recently closed the acquisition of Garza Food Ventures, which does business as Siete Foods, for $1.2 billion.

The Siete acquisition is the latest in a line of PepsiCo acquisitions that include PopCorners, Bare, Stacy's Pita Chips, and most recently, Sabra.

Pepsi is expected to report $1.94 in earnings per share on estimated revenues of $27.95 billion for its fourth-quarter earnings.

Pepsi stock is down 2.51% year-to-date.

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