Wells Fargo & Company Trims Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Target Price to $59.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $59.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.10.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.96. 252,507 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,573,769. The stock has a market cap of $52.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.43.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.