Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $59.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 8.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $54.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.59. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Mainsail Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors 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.