Morgan Stanley Raises Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target to $74.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) from $70.00 to $74.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.45% from the stock's previous close.
• Other brokerages, including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, have also recently updated their price targets for the stock, with ratings ranging from "neutral" to "overweight".
• Monster Beverage reported an EPS of $0.52 for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue increased 11.1% compared to the previous year.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.90.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST traded up $3.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,216,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,069. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.05. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $45.19 and a 12 month high of $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 28.71%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 647.3% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 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.