Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MNST. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $54.65 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.18. The company has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,789 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,543,000 after acquiring an additional 734,406 shares during the period. 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.