Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Monster Beverage hit a new 52-week high after Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $94 from $88 and kept a buy rating, helping lift the stock to an intraday high of $88.77.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.58 versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32 billion versus $2.16 billion forecast, while sales rose 22.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: several firms recently lifted targets, and MarketBeat says Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $87.

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $94.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Monster Beverage traded as high as $88.77 and last traded at $86.2490, with a volume of 15283696 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.97.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MNST. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.00.

Key Stories Impacting Monster Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Monster Beverage reported first-quarter EPS of $0.58, beating the $0.53 consensus estimate, on revenue of $2.32 billion versus expectations of $2.16 billion. Sales rose 22.6% year over year, supporting the stock’s move higher. Monster Beverage earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $88 from $86 and kept an outperform rating, signaling continued confidence in Monster Beverage’s outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $94 from $88 and reiterated a buy rating, implying additional upside if growth remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo increased its target to $87 from $85 and maintained an overweight rating, while Evercore raised its target to $95 from $90 and kept an outperform rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted particularly strong international demand, with overseas sales up sharply and now making up a larger share of total revenue. This supports the growth story, but investors may still watch whether that momentum persists.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 229,814 shares of the company's stock worth $16,652,000 after buying an additional 6,386 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 137.8% during the 1st quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 267,481 shares of the company's stock worth $19,382,000 after acquiring an additional 154,981 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 105.4% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,568 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 355.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 474 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.94. The firm has a market cap of $84.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.50.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 23.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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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