Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives $56.15 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.85.

MNST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its position in Monster Beverage by 152.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at $234,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 158.2% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 279,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,972,000 after acquiring an additional 171,406 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $2,674,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 341.9% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 580,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,020,000 after acquiring an additional 449,524 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $46.74 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.51. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.