Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $77.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.46% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research raised Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.67.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $76.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.98. The stock has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.48. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $77.17.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 154.1% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 7,085 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Monster Beverage by 17.8% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 275,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,534,000 after acquiring an additional 41,593 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Monster Beverage by 80.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 35,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,381,000 after acquiring an additional 15,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.