Analysts Set Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) PT at $61.32

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.32.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.7 %

MNST opened at $54.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.92. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,738,000 after buying an additional 550,293 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,557,000 after acquiring an additional 330,740 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.