Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $83.90 and last traded at $83.88, with a volume of 2552406 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.90.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.51 and a 200-day moving average of $71.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.32, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% 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. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Numerai GP LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 303.4% during the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 29,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after buying an additional 22,184 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 69,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 19,560 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 503,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,639,000 after acquiring an additional 216,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,546,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.