Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $83.90 and last traded at $83.88, with a volume of 2552406 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.90.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.32, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 397.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 247.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.0% during the second quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 113.0% during the second quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 7,238 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 14,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 5,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.