Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $49.50 to $49.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MNST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $108.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Monster Beverage from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.86.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $45.66 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.01. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $32.94 and a fifty-two week high of $50.17. The company has a market cap of $89.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 14.5% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 84,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,534,000 after acquiring an additional 10,756 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 30,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 15,216 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 99.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Left Brain Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 101,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 50,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.