Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Monster Beverage to a hold rating, while other analysts remain mixed but generally constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.35.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.58 per share on revenue of $2.32 billion, with revenue up 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share repurchase plan, and the stock was trading near its 52-week high at $92.83, up 0.9% on the day.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $92.83 on Thursday. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $93.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $691,104,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Monster Beverage by 7,360.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,191,407 shares of the company's stock worth $474,695,000 after buying an additional 6,108,420 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Monster Beverage by 133.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,499,546 shares of the company's stock worth $651,660,000 after buying an additional 4,858,109 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 8.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company's stock worth $2,538,872,000 after buying an additional 2,789,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,483,584 shares of the company's stock worth $4,542,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,685 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

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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