Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $65.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.67. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $121,575,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.