Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) from $72.00 to $75.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.11% from the previous close.
• Monster Beverage's latest quarterly earnings report showed $0.52 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues up 11.1% year-over-year.
• The stock has received a mix of ratings, with thirteen analysts rating it as a Buy and a consensus average target price of $65.57.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Bank of America from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.11% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MNST. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.57.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9%

MNST traded up $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.74. 4,358,205 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,959,466. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $69.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.75. The firm has a market cap of $67.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. Monster Beverage's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,360,899 shares of the company's stock worth $4,094,207,000 after acquiring an additional 574,275 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,929,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,188,004,000 after purchasing an additional 900,479 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 26,450,305 shares of the company's stock worth $1,656,847,000 after buying an additional 385,692 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,680,424 shares of the company's stock worth $1,165,292,000 after purchasing an additional 742,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,983,411 shares of the company's stock worth $688,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,064 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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