New Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner Gets A Thumbs Down From Market, But Retail Traders Hope For Sweeter Story Ahead

Hershey Co. (HSY) stock dropped 4.7%, its steepest intraday decline this year, on Wednesday, after the company announced that Wendy's Chief Kirk Tanner will take over as its chief executive officer next month. However, retail investors cheered the move.

In an investor note, Morgan Stanley stated that it was undecided regarding the appointment of the executive.

Tanner's short track record as a public company CEO, combined with Wendy's notable stock underperformance under his leadership, suggests the management change may be met with a wait-and-see approach for now, the investment bank argued.

Tanner was the CEO of Wendy's for a year and a half and had worked at PepsiCo (PEP) for over three decades before that.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment shifted to 'extremely bullish' from 'neutral' the previous day. HSY shares are down 5.4% year-to-date.

User comments were mixed. One called the move "weird" and Tanner a "failed CEO", while another said the stock got oversold and would climb to $165-$168 levels in a week.

Tanner's appointment comes amid a period of momentum for Hershey, which is best known for its milk chocolates and peanut butter cups. The company's sales and profit beat estimates last quarter, in part due to price hikes and strong performance in the North American market.

However, Hershey had indicated earlier that it faces significant headwinds from high cocoa prices and U.S. tariffs.

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