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

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.35.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $97.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $100.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.97 and a 200-day moving average of $82.92.

Monster Beverage shares are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, July 8th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last ninety days. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.4% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 372,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,848,000 after acquiring an additional 4,413 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth $238,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 464.0% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% during the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 33,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,190,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.