Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.77% from the stock’s current price.

MNST has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.81. 3,938,811 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,350,546. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.08. The company has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.