Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $65.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,864,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,266,715. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.58. The firm has a market cap of $58.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last three months. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.