The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $67.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.18% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, reaching $63.06. The stock had a trading volume of 6,155,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,090,860. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $64.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,712,000 after purchasing an additional 563,353 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth $497,157,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $442,642,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by 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.