Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Lowered to $60.00 at UBS Group

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price reduced by research analysts at UBS Group from $61.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $55.00 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.78. The company has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 112.2% during the third quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 195,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 103,271 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,378,000 after acquiring an additional 86,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.