Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.35.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MNST opened at $91.66 on Thursday. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $93.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.67. The company has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a PE ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total transaction of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 in the last 90 days. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Monster Beverage

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.