Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Receives $63.11 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.11.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.75. 3,868,698 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,223,544. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.97, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company's 50 day moving average price is $57.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.47.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 98.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,836,434,000 after acquiring an additional 16,863,544 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $517,035,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.0% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company's stock worth $773,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287,123 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

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.