Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.07.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $83.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $108.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $47.50 price target (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, July 20th.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $47.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.31. The stock has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 43.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $32.94 and a 1 year high of $50.17.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%. Monster Beverage's revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MNST. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 100.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 104.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 6,140 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 102.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 473,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,691,000 after buying an additional 238,907 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,778,496 shares of the company's stock worth $157,261,000 after acquiring an additional 932,252 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,034 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 9,059 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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