Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Cut to $50.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $56.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on MNST. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an underperform rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $46.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a buy rating to a sell rating and decreased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.19.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.06. 14,553,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.91. 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm 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 company earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th 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, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 72.36% of the stock is 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.