Brokerages Set Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target at $61.32

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.32.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MNST. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $54.22 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.89. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.