Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Dropped to “Hold” by Zacks Research

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MNST. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $49.50 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.07.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $45.40 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $35.03 and a fifty-two week high of $50.17. The company has a market cap of $88.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.37.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 24.99%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 362.8% during the third quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 16,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 13,002 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.8% in the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 525.9% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 23,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 19,439 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 95.6% in the third quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 336,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,997,000 after buying an additional 164,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 132.8% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 13,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 7,844 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 develops, markets and sells energy drinks and other beverages. Its portfolio includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS and Full Throttle, along with products in categories such as sports drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages. The company traces its roots to Hansen’s, a beverage business established in the 1930s. It introduced the Monster Energy brand in 2002 and adopted the Monster Beverage name in 2012. Based in Corona, California, Monster sells its products in the United States and internationally.