Morgan Stanley: CF Industries a great buy

CF Industries Holdings Inc., the world's second-largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer, rose the most in more than 15 months in New York trading after Morgan Stanley analysts recommended investors buy the stock.

CF climbed as much as 8.3 percent after analysts Vincent Andrews and Megan Davis in New York gave the stock an "overweight" rating and set a 12-month price target of $90. The intraday percentage gain is the biggest since Feb. 25, 2009.

"CF offers an attractive risk/reward as it has been the worst performing fertilizer stock" year-to-date, Andrews and Davis said today in a note to clients.

The stock had dropped 35 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 17 percent decline for Agrium Inc. and 12 percent fall for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. CF climbed $4.11, or 7 percent, to $63.08 at 12:05 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and touched $63.84.

CF became the second-largest maker of nitrogen fertilizer by production capacity after its acquisition this year of Sioux City, Iowa-based Terra Industries Inc. for about $4.7 billion. CF, based in Deerfield, trails Yara International ASA of Norway in capacity.