Argus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Argus from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 17.05% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.86.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $81.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.13 and a 200 day moving average of $68.81. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $83.24.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 274,981 shares of company stock valued at $20,138,516 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors 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.