Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Given New $83.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $80.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.02% from the stock’s current price.

MNST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $74.76. The stock had a trading volume of 609,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,913,127. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.66 and its 200 day moving average is $65.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.48. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $76.28.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 154.1% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 7,085 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Monster Beverage by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 275,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,534,000 after acquiring an additional 41,593 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 80.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 35,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after acquiring an additional 15,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth $45,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.