Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $104.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Monster Beverage traded as high as $99.53 and last traded at $99.5910, with a volume of 200121 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.57.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MNST. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.35.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 397.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 247.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $97.74 billion, a PE ratio of 48.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.78.

Monster Beverage’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, July 8th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.