Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $83.43 and traded as high as $94.54. Monster Beverage shares last traded at $93.56, with a volume of 3,867,683 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MNST. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.65.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.43. The company has a market cap of $91.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.20, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 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 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 355.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 474 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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