Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.05.

Several brokerages have issued reports on MNST. TD Cowen upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $63.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.20 and a 200 day moving average of $56.33.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 118,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,244,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 541.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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