Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.83.

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $57.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.18. The company has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.