Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.0476.

Several research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 16,986 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,170 shares of the company's stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $69.62 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $70.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.96.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS 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.

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