Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives $63.11 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.11.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.73 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.46.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,738,000 after acquiring an additional 550,293 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 98.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,836,434,000 after buying an additional 16,863,544 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287,123 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,557,000 after purchasing an additional 330,740 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.