Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.19.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $66.16 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a PE ratio of 41.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.81 and a 200 day moving average of $60.67.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.80% 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 stock. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 647.3% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.