Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, said Tuesday that a deal with Danish company Novozymes to form a long-term research and development alliance should accelerate the release of microbial-based products designed to improve crop production. The news helped to lightly lift shares in St. Louis-based Monsanto, and analysts said while the biological work is not likely to offer a near-term revenue boost, it does hold long-term promise."I like the transaction. This is a brand new opportunity," said BGC Financial equity research analyst Mark Gulley. "This supplements Monsanto's current crop protection portfolio."Monsanto is known for its development of genetically modified crops and Roundup herbicide. The company has broad global market penetration of biotech corn, soybeans and other crops that have had their DNA altered to tolerate being sprayed with herbicide and to ward off harmful pests.But resistance to Roundup and other crop protection chemicals has been a mounting problem for farmers, and Monsanto and rivals are racing to offer alternatives.
Monsanto Company (Monsanto) along with its subsidiaries, is a provider of agricultural products for farmers. Shares of MON traded higher by 0.73% or $0.82/share to $112.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $88.98 and as high as $114.56. On average, 2607640 shares of MON exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 773322.
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