11:32 AM EDT, 09/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Church & Dwight's ( CHD ) stock is now "fairly valued" following its recent outperformance, while its incremental catalysts have already played out, Morgan Stanley said in a note e-mailed Monday.

The brokerage sees limited upside to the company's stock given its premium valuation relative to higher projected long-term sales growth at its peers with international strength, according to the note. "We worry that US [household and personal care] pricing is slowing as promotion picks up, with consumers/retailers focused on value, and HPC companies likely to use the pricing lever to drive a rebound in muted volume trends, utilizing recent [gross margin] upside to reinvest."

Church & Dwight's ( CHD ) organic sales growth is slowing, with both year-over-year and two-year average Nielsen US scanner data trends decelerating in recent months, Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients.

"We are also increasingly worried about balance, as CHD is now even more reliant on momentum from the Hero and TheraBreath brands, which continue to grow at healthy rates, but US scanner data for CHD is now declining [excluding] those brands in the last few months," the brokerage said.

Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the Church & Dwight ( CHD ) stock to equal-weight from overweight while maintaining its $110 price target.

Price: 104.82, Change: -0.37, Percent Change: -0.35