Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 21.55% from the stock’s previous close.

MNST has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $58.41 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. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $60.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.