Analysts Set Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) PT at $60.81

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.05.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,712,000 after purchasing an additional 563,353 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth about $497,157,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $63.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.95 and its 200-day moving average is $55.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Monster Beverage’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.