Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.89.

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.81. The company had a trading volume of 914,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,447,655. The stock has a market cap of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.30. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.