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

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $71.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage 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.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MNST. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $58.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.09. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.34. The company has a market capitalization of $56.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,090,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $423,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently 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.