Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Cut to “Sell” at Truist Financial

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by analysts at Truist Financial from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $46.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $65.00. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 15.33% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, HSBC reduced 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.79.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $54.33 on Thursday. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a market cap of $56.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.59.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Mainsail Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.2% in the third quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 18,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.