Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Monster Beverage has received an upgrade from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating from Wall Street Zen, indicating positive sentiment from analysts regarding the company's stock.
• Despite the upgrade, several analysts, including Roth Capital and JPMorgan Chase, maintain a "neutral" rating with price targets ranging from $60.00 to $68.00, reflecting mixed expectations in the market.
• Monster Beverage reported a quarterly revenue of $2.11 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.08 billion, and posted earnings per share of $0.52, surpassing estimates by $0.04.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.6%

MNST traded down $0.38 on Friday, reaching $63.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,001,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,165,583. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $66.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.76. The company has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 647.3% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.