Key Highlights

● Hershey came under pressure on Friday, October 30, 2026, after a downgrade.

● TD Cowen cut the stock to Hold from Buy.

● The price target fell to $173 from $198.

● Hershey had cut its 2026 Organic Sales growth forecast on Thursday.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was under pressure on Friday, October 30, 2026, after TD Cowen downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and lowered its price target to $173 from $198, according to market data. The stock opened at $160.56. The size of Friday's move was not given in available reports.

The downgrade followed Hershey's decision on Thursday, October 29, to cut its 2026 forecast for organic sales growth. TD Cowen also lowered its outlook for the company's Earnings growth, according to market data.

Wall Street splits

Other firms weighed in with a range of views. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) lowered its price target, according to the reports. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) reaffirmed its Neutral rating with a $170 target, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $194 target.

The split shows how analysts are weighing Hershey's reduced sales outlook. TD Cowen's move to the sidelines put it closer to Bank of America's stance, while Goldman remained more positive.

Out of step with the staples rally

Hershey's pressure stood out on a day when consumer staples stocks were among the market's strongest performers. Investors rotated out of technology and into defensive sectors, and staples ended as one of the top-performing groups in the S&P 500.

The contrast with a close rival was especially sharp. Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) International, the maker of Oreo and Cadbury, rose after its third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.78 a share beat the $0.71 estimate. Its adjusted gross Margin improved on easing cocoa costs, and Volume and mix accelerated. Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised its price target on Mondelez to $73, and UBS (NYSE:UBS) raised its target to $68.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) and Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) also rose after raising parts of their outlooks, and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Costco (NASDAQ:COST) gained early in the session.

A difficult day for the indexes

The broader market had its worst session since June. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572.25 points to 51,770.31 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 747.73 points to 25,437.00. The Russell 2000 lost 47.37 points to 2,811.84.

The selling was concentrated in technology. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s weak fourth-quarter outlook and warning of cash burn this year set off a rout in chip and AI stocks, and Intel suffered what market reports called its steepest one-day drop on record. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s negative trailing 12-month free Cash Flow of $42.4 billion added to worries about AI spending.

Six of 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by energy, consumer staples, utilities and health care. Oil traded above $100 a barrel, a reported $6.3 billion hack at Binance hit crypto stocks and markets priced in a December rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

"Global markets are ending an exceptionally busy week on a cautious note," a senior market analyst said.

What to watch

Investors will be watching for any further analyst revisions after Hershey's forecast cut and TD Cowen's downgrade. Commentary from the company on Demand trends and pricing heading into the holiday season would also draw attention, given the contrast with Mondelez's stronger quarter.

On the macro calendar, the midterm elections take place on November 3, ISM surveys arrive next week and the October jobs report follows on Friday, November 6. Those releases will shape whether investors keep favoring defensive consumer stocks, and whether Hershey can share in that rotation.