Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MNST. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ MNST opened at $85.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $83.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.47. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $53.90 and a fifty-two week high of $87.38.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.97% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. SG Trading Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Monster Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and underlying momentum — MNST reported $0.51 EPS vs. $0.49 expected and $2.10B revenue vs. $2.04B expected; revenue rose ~17.6% YoY and margins expanded, driven by core energy‑drink strength and international growth. This is the primary catalyst supporting the stock. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms raised targets (examples: Jefferies and Citi to $100, Deutsche Bank/Wells Fargo/Piper Sandler to ~$94, Stifel/UBS raised targets into the low‑$90s), signaling buy/overweight views that support further upside. Representative coverage of these moves is available. TickerReport: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and disclosures — Transcripts and highlights detail international expansion, segment trends and management commentary that investors will review for sustainability of growth; these items clarify future guidance but are information‑driven rather than immediate catalysts. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo: Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and mixed analyst views cap near‑term gains — MNST trades at a high P/E (around 48x) and some large brokers maintain neutral/hold ratings or offer targets implying limited upside (JPMorgan’s target is lower than the current price), which can pressure the stock after a run. See current market summary for valuation context. MarketBeat: Stock Summary
• Negative Sentiment: High trading volume suggests profit‑taking — Volume has run above average on the news day, consistent with short‑term traders and some shareholders locking gains after the stock’s recent run toward its 12‑month high.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.