Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday morning.

MNST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $85.30 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $53.90 and a 52-week high of $87.38. The stock has a market cap of $83.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.38% and a net margin of 22.97%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $691,104,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,262,000 after buying an additional 7,137,552 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 7,360.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,191,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,695,000 after buying an additional 6,108,420 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 467.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,996,000 after buying an additional 5,641,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 133.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,499,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,858,109 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and underlying momentum — MNST reported $0.51 EPS vs. $0.49 expected and $2.10B revenue vs. $2.04B expected; revenue rose ~17.6% YoY and margins expanded, driven by core energy‑drink strength and international growth. This is the primary catalyst supporting the stock. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms raised targets (examples: Jefferies and Citi to $100, Deutsche Bank/Wells Fargo/Piper Sandler to ~$94, Stifel/UBS raised targets into the low‑$90s), signaling buy/overweight views that support further upside. Representative coverage of these moves is available. TickerReport: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and disclosures — Transcripts and highlights detail international expansion, segment trends and management commentary that investors will review for sustainability of growth; these items clarify future guidance but are information‑driven rather than immediate catalysts. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo: Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and mixed analyst views cap near‑term gains — MNST trades at a high P/E (around 48x) and some large brokers maintain neutral/hold ratings or offer targets implying limited upside (JPMorgan’s target is lower than the current price), which can pressure the stock after a run. See current market summary for valuation context. MarketBeat: Stock Summary
• Negative Sentiment: High trading volume suggests profit‑taking — Volume has run above average on the news day, consistent with short‑term traders and some shareholders locking gains after the stock’s recent run toward its 12‑month high.

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.