Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its Monster Beverage price target from $50 to $52 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying 8.72% upside from the share price cited in the article. Analysts overall hold a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average target of $69.45.
• Monster reported quarterly revenue growth of 16.7% year over year, exceeding estimates, while adjusted EPS of $0.30 matched consensus. Margin concerns and the lack of an earnings beat weighed on shares after the results.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 8.72% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $47.50 price objective (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.45.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.9%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $47.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.27. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $32.94 and a 1-year high of $50.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. NBH Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Monster Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Net sales rose 16.7% year over year to $2.56 billion, topping analysts’ estimates. Sales outside the U.S. climbed 28.1% to $1.20 billion, or 47% of total revenue, while net income reached $568.4 million. Monster Beverage third-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.30 per share, in line with consensus; GAAP diluted earnings were $0.29 per share, up 7.8% year over year. Zacks earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared to focus on margin pressure and the lack of an earnings beat, overshadowing the revenue growth and contributing to the post-results decline in MNST shares. Coverage of shares and margin pressure

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.