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

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.85.

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,035,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 93.9% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 7,477,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,519,000 after acquiring an additional 3,620,436 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,657 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 143.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,209,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,064 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $48.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.70.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

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.