Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective hoisted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $75.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MNST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded up $3.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.73. The company had a trading volume of 14,099,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,954,324. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $72.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.59 and its 200-day moving average is $63.44.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 49.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 16,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.