Morgan Stanley Cuts Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target to $65.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Monster Beverage from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a buy rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.4 %

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

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,668,738,000 after buying an additional 550,293 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 20.3% during 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 last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.9% in 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $517,035,000. 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.