Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) PT Lowered to $65.00 at Morgan Stanley

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MNST. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a buy rating to a sell rating and dropped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $54.22. The stock had a trading volume of 10,018,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,542,921. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.86. The stock has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

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

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $517,035,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,209,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.