Monsanto Limits Conference Call Access to Selected Analysts
Bloomberg News
January 4, 1999, 2:28 p.m. ET
St. Louis, Missouri, Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., a
leading agricultural product maker focusing increasingly on
pharmaceuticals, invited only selected securities analysts to a
conference call in which executives discussed the future of the
company's newly approved Celebrex arthritis drug.
The St. Louis, Missouri-based company invited only the
analysts who normally cover Monsanto and didn't notify all of its
shareholders, said Lori Fisher, a spokeswoman for the company.
The exclusion means smaller investors without access to Wall
Street research aren't privy to the meeting's detailed
discussions, which can result in significant moves in the price
of a company's stock.
Fisher said the company intended the conference call for
analysts to follow the same format and release the same
information as a call held an hour earlier for reporters. The
company barred the media from the analysts' call.
''It's just always been our policy to keep that reserved for
the analysts that know us,'' Fisher said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved
Celebrex for treating osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The drug, which is expected to have sales potentially topping $1
billion a year, is key to Monsanto's strategy of building up its
pharmaceutical business.
--Kristin Jensen in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1843 /mfr
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