Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $64.00. The stock had previously closed at $51.92, but opened at $55.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Monster Beverage shares last traded at $54.81, with a volume of 1,698,495 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.26.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 9,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $7,090,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 5.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.27 and a 200-day moving average of $51.15.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share 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.