Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $61.00. The stock had previously closed at $51.92, but opened at $55.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Monster Beverage shares last traded at $54.81, with a volume of 1,698,495 shares changing hands.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Argus boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 4.8 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.08. The stock has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

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.