Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Monster Beverage's price target from $68.00 to $70.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Bank of America increased its price target for Monster Beverage to $75.00 with a "buy" rating, while other analysts have varying targets and ratings on the stock.
• Monster Beverage reported a quarterly EPS of $0.52, exceeding estimates and showing an 11.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued on Friday. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.16% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MNST. Bank of America boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.43.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $69.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.24 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.63. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $70.72.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $544,584,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $497,157,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company's stock worth $456,262,000 after purchasing an additional 7,137,552 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 467.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company's stock worth $422,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $157,063,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.