Will Coca-Cola (KO) Expand Its Market Dominance With the Return of a Favorite Flavor?

Coca-Cola (KO) is reportedly planning to bring back a fan-favorite flavor, as it looks to expand its dominance of the U.S. soda market. New reports suggest that the beverage company will return Diet Cherry Coke to store shelves.
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The reports don't claim when this return will happen, but do note that Diet Cherry Coke will only be around for a limited time. Leaks show a retro-inspired can and packaging for the promotion.
Coca-Cola fans have called on the company to revive Diet Cherry Coke after it was discontinued five years ago. The company has instead focused on its Coke Zero Sugar line of drinks, but sales of those still fall behind their Diet Coke variants. With that in mind, it makes sense that Coca-Cola would bring back a classic flavor to meet the demand for its diet drinks.
Coca-Cola Stock Analyst Coverage
In related news, there's new analyst coverage of KO stock that will please shareholders. Five-star Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian reiterated a Buy rating and $81 price target for Coca-Cola stock, implying a 13.3% upside for the shares.
KO stock was also up 0.28% as of Monday afternoon. While not a major increase, baby steps to giant strides have resulted in a 15.78% rise year-to-date. This has resulted in the stock outperforming the major indices even in light of inflation, tariffs, and other economic headwinds.
Is Coca-Cola Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Coca-Cola is Strong Buy, based on 14 Buy and one Hold rating over the past three months. With that comes an average KO stock price target of $79.50, representing a potential 11.09% upside for the shares.

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