Royal Bank of Canada Trims Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Target Price to $60.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.15.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.3 %

MNST stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $46.06. 14,618,892 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.83.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at $99,404,574. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.