Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Lowered to $53.00 at UBS Group

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at UBS Group from $57.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.75% from the company’s previous close.

MNST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.10.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,058,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,845,087. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.27.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 68,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.