Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.30.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $51.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.26. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 68,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.