JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $60.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MNST. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.17.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $61.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.96. The company has a market capitalization of $59.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.83.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $121,575,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.