Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy”: 15 of 24 covering firms rate Monster Beverage a buy and nine rate it hold; the average 12-month price target is $67.07.
• Quarterly revenue grew 16.7% year over year to $2.53 billion, above analysts’ $2.49 billion estimate, while EPS of $0.30 matched consensus.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in the third quarter; institutional investors collectively own 72.36% of the company.

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.07.

Several research firms have commented on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $49.50 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.4% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 280,227 shares of the company's stock worth $11,663,000 after buying an additional 142,440 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.1% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 111,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,623,000 after buying an additional 8,339 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,026,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 129.4% during the third quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 8,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.9% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 8,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,396 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $46.46. 6,827,028 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,993,536. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.42. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $35.40 and a 12 month high of $50.17. The company has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 24.99% and a net margin of 22.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation develops, markets and sells energy drinks and other beverages. Its portfolio includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS and Full Throttle, along with products in categories such as sports drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages. The company traces its roots to Hansen's, a beverage business established in the 1930s. It introduced the Monster Energy brand in 2002 and adopted the Monster Beverage name in 2012. Based in Corona, California, Monster sells its products in the United States and internationally.

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