Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $83.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $45.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $45.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.07.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.0%

MNST stock opened at $43.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $84.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $32.94 and a 12 month high of $50.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.96.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 399.2% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 33,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 148.2% in the third quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 53,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 31,702 shares during the period. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 528.2% in the third quarter. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 18,687 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 117.1% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 6,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 88.8% in the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation is a beverage company that develops, markets, and distributes energy drinks and related alternative beverages. Its flagship Monster Energy brand offers a range of energy drinks in multiple flavors and formulations, including products designed for performance, focus, and lifestyle-oriented consumption.

The company’s portfolio also includes brands such as Reign, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, and Mother, along with other energy and beverage products sold under regional or strategic brand arrangements.