Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $75.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Fourteen 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,514,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,937,966. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $72.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.59 and a 200-day moving average of $63.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.63 billion, a PE ratio of 43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.9% in the third quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P now owns 17,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 17,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 224,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 9.8% in the third quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 10,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.