The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price increased by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $77.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 5.2%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $69.73 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $72.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.47.

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

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is 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.