Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 22 analysts, with 14 buy ratings and 8 hold ratings. The average 1-year target price is $90.95.
• The company delivered strong recent results: In its latest quarterly report, Monster Beverage beat expectations with $0.58 EPS versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32 billion versus $2.16 billion expected. Revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• Shareholders will see a stock split and buyback support: The company announced a 2-for-1 stock split effective August 11 and a $500 million share repurchase program. The buyback covers up to about 0.6% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.95.

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $97.39 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $90.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $58.09 and a 1-year high of $99.15.

Shares of Monster Beverage are going to split on the morning of Tuesday, August 11th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, July 8th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 397.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 247.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company's stock worth $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation NASDAQ: MNST is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company's product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen's Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.

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