Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Buy (B-)" Rating for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B-)" rating for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST), indicating positive sentiment among analysts towards the stock.
• Multiple investment firms have raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with Bank of America increasing it from $66 to $72 and Citigroup from $74 to $76.
• Monster Beverage reported a 20.54% net margin and $2.11 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showcasing significant year-over-year growth.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MNST. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.57.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $68.73 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $69.20. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $63.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.80. The firm has a market cap of $67.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently 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.

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