Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $62.00 at UBS Group

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $57.00 to $62.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.99% from the company’s previous close.

MNST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $57.95 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.10 and its 200 day moving average is $53.05. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted 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 buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $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.