Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target for Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating which suggests a potential upside of 4.43%.
• Monster Beverage's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.52, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 11.1% increase in revenue from the previous year.
• As of now, 72.36% of Monster Beverage's stock is owned by institutional investors, highlighting strong interest from large stakeholders.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MNST. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.90.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded up $3.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.69. The stock had a trading volume of 12,216,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,069. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $45.19 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 28.71%. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,094 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 253,972 shares of the company's stock worth $13,350,000 after acquiring an additional 140,955 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,270 shares of the company's stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.