Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $67.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MNST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $69.62 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.96. The company has a market cap of $67.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $70.06.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $544,584,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth $497,157,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,262,000 after acquiring an additional 7,137,552 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 467.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,996,000 after acquiring an additional 5,641,160 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 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.