Coca-Cola (KO) was targeted by hackers Everest hackers last week, who claimed to have internal documents from the beverage company. They gave Coca-Cola five days to pay a ransom or have the information leaked online. The soda maker refused to do so, which resulted in the data being posted online yesterday.
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The data in this breach is largely from Coca-Cola employees in the Middle East. It includes passports, visas, and identifications. With this information now posted online, these workers are more likely to face cyberattacks, such as identity theft and credit card fraud.
It’s unclear how Coca-Cola will respond to the data breach. However, the company’s shares are largely unaffected. KO stock was down less than 1% today, and remains up 15.57% year-to-date.
More KO News: Coca-Cola Cures Bezoars
In other Coca-Cola news, the company’s flagship soda has been confirmed as a cure for gastric phytobezoars. These are collections of undigested fruit and vegetables that can build up in the stomach and cause blockages.
Coca-Cola was combined with an endoscopic injection to treat gastric phytobezoars in a study, which found it was effective at doing so in roughly 50% of patients. The drink performed well in the study due to its high acidity, its ability to activate proteolytic enzymes in the stomach, and the dissolving effect of gas bubbles from carbon dioxide.
This isn’t the first time Coca-Cola has been floated as a treatment for a medical issue. A viral TikTok trend listed it as part of a combination that could allegedly cure a migraine, with the help of McDonald’s French fries.
Is Coca-Cola Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Coca-Cola is Strong Buy, based on 15 Buy and one Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average KO stock price target of $79.33, representing a potential 11.29% upside for the shares.
See more KO stock analyst ratings
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