Bank of America Boosts Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target to $66.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $57.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.76% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.39.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.13. 1,856,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,019,063. The stock has a market cap of $58.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.57. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.4% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,071 shares of the company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $307,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the period. American Trust acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at $687,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,363,935 shares of the company's stock worth $71,156,000 after acquiring an additional 141,495 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.