Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Rating) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.85.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Monster Beverage from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 15th.

In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 50,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.00, for a total transaction of $4,550,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 310,244 shares in the company, valued at $28,232,204. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 26,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.73, for a total value of $2,386,108.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,349,997.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 117,028 shares of company stock valued at $10,522,704. 10.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $5,669,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 14.4% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,805,000 after purchasing an additional 23,816 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 2,926.3% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 116,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,369,000 after purchasing an additional 112,869 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.6% in the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 16,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TownSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.44% of the company’s stock.

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $90.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.98. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $71.78 and a 12 month high of $99.89.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 21.21% and a net margin of 23.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile (Get Rating)

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, and Other. It offers carbonated energy drinks, non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages.

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