Morgan Stanley Trims Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Target Price to $65.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MNST. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.78. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,738,000 after acquiring an additional 550,293 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,557,000 after buying an additional 330,740 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after buying an additional 3,026,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.