Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Given New $60.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price trimmed by Evercore ISI from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.19.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MNST traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.06. The stock had a trading volume of 14,553,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.91.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Monster Beverage 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374 in the last three months. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.