Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.81.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $63.41 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $60.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.21. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 152,796 shares of company stock valued at $8,688,558. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.