Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Cut to $90.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target on Monster Beverage from $92 to $90 while keeping a "buy" rating, implying about an 18.50% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but overall positive: the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $84.55, and individual targets range widely (e.g., Citigroup $100 to UBS $80).
• Monster recently beat quarterly expectations—EPS $0.51 vs. $0.49 and revenue $2.10B (up 17.6% YoY)—and is trading around $76 with a market cap near $74.3B and a PE of ~39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $92.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.50% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MNST. Evercore lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Monster Beverage from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.55.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $75.95 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.37. The company has a market cap of $74.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $57.86 and a twelve month high of $87.38.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.38% and a net margin of 22.97%.The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MNST. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 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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