Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $59.07 and last traded at $59.04, with a volume of 5033887 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in 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 last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.