Molson Coors, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s biggest competitor in North America, is thriving in the wake of its rival’s decision to have Bud Light partner up with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
The Chicago-based company’s stock price has surged 28 percent since March amid a boycott of Bud Light, Forbes reported Thursday.
Over the same period, AB InBev has seen its stock price tumble by 18 percent.
Many market analysts believe the success of Bud Light’s competitors is not something that is temporary.
Molson Coors’ stock could jump much higher, according to an analyst for the investment banking company The Jeffries Group.
It closed at $66.65 on Thursday, its best finish since January 2019.
Kevin Grundy with Jeffries predicted the stock will hit $75 per share soon, which would be a 14 percent increase, Forbes noted.
Grundy is not the only market analyst feeling bullish about the company, whose brands include Coors, Miller, Milwaukee’s Best, Blue Moon, Hamm’s and Molson.
“Bank of America analyst Bryan Spillane upgraded Molson Coors from a sell to a buy in a Tuesday note to clients, citing the collapsing demand for Bud Light as the catalyst for Molson Coors to cash in on its broader reshuffling efforts in recent years and deeming Coors Light and Miller Light the ‘the main beneficiaries of the Bud Light controversy,'” Forbes reported.
According to the report, one-third of Bud Light distributors have expressed fears that the brand’s plummeted sales might be permanent.
Grundy, however, compared the ongoing boycott of the brand to the backlash against Nike after it partnered with former NFL quarterback and anti-American activist Colin Kaepernick.
He said the backlash against Bud Light will be “transitory” and predicted it will slowly “fade with time.”
In spite of Grundy’s optimism for the brand, the boycott of Bud Light has shown no signs of slowing down.
As of last week, AB InBev’s decision to partner with Mulvaney had cost it $27 billion in market value, the New York Post reported.
The company bottomed out for now on May 31 with shares closing at $53.40.
Shares were trading at $54.96 as of early Friday afternoon.
But the company was trading at $66.73 on March 31 — the day before Mulvaney unveiled a can of Bud Light on social media with his face on it.
Overall, the company’s stock price is down more than 13 percent over the last 30 days.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.