Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Cut to “Sell” at Truist Financial

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by research analysts at Truist Financial from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $46.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $65.00. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 15.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MNST. UBS Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.79.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.33 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.59. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 112.2% in the 3rd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 195,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 103,271 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,378,000 after acquiring an additional 86,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 900 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.