Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.83.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MNST. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.18. The firm has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

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

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.