Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $64.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 29.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MNST. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.05.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MNST opened at $49.34 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.18 and its 200 day moving average is $55.24. The company has a market capitalization of $51.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $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.