Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $75.30 and last traded at $75.6540, with a volume of 4528 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $74.29 billion, a PE ratio of 47.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.83.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.4% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 108,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,165 shares during the period. waypoint wealth counsel purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $314,000. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $365,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,209,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,403,000 after acquiring an additional 152,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 35.3% in the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.