KO, WMT, or MDLZ: Which Defensive Stock is Best for a Recession? In this piece, we used TipRanks'' Comparison Tool to check out three blue-chip consumer staple stocks — KO, WMT, and MDLZ, — with a "Strong Buy" consensus rating from Wall Street that can perform relatively well during a recession. Regarding upside potential from analyst price targets, MDLZ tops the list, but let''s look into each stock further. Worries about a 2023 recession are picking up, with hot CPI numbers coming in yesterday. The inflation data was only a tad hotter, but that was enough to send the broader stock market spiraling down more than 4% on the day.