Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target to $87.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Monster to $87 and maintained an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 3.2% upside; the analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $86.50 and several firms (e.g., Citi, Evercore) posting higher targets.
• Monster materially beat Q1 expectations with EPS of $0.58 versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32B (vs. $2.16B), driven by roughly 45% international sales growth and a 22.6% year‑over‑year revenue increase.
• The stock trades at a rich valuation (P/E ~43, PEG ~2.8), which could limit short‑term upside despite the beat, though institutional ownership is high (~72%) after large inflows from investors like Norges Bank, MFS, Wellington and Vanguard.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $87.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 3.20% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MNST. Evercore raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $86.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.50.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 11.0%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $84.30 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $76.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.94. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $87.38. The company has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.97% and a return on equity of 27.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MNST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $691,104,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 7,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,191,407 shares of the company's stock worth $474,695,000 after buying an additional 6,108,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 133.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,499,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $651,660,000 after buying an additional 4,858,109 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company's stock worth $2,538,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789,273 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,483,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,542,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Monster Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results materially beat consensus: EPS of $0.58 vs. $0.53 expected and net sales up ~26.9% (press release shows operating income and net income up ~28%). Strong top‑ and bottom‑line beats justify the positive investor reaction to the report. GlobeNewswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: International expansion is a major growth engine: international sales rose roughly 45% to over $1 billion and now represent about 45% of revenue, boosting reported sales growth (also helped by currency). That broadens revenue mix and supports margin leverage. WSJ: International Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded MNST to Buy with a $90 target and Evercore ISI reaffirmed its Buy stance, providing upside narrative and institutional validation after the quarter. Rothschild Upgrade Evercore ISI Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call/transcript and analyst write‑ups are available for detail; management commentary and Q&A will determine whether guidance or channel commentary alters the reaction. (See the full transcript for specifics.) Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets summarize the beats and margin strength (Zacks, TipRanks, MarketBeat), which confirm the core results but add little new directional information beyond the press release. Zacks Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and short‑term profit‑taking may be weighing on the share price: MNST trades at a high multiple (PE ~39, PEG ~2.8) after the strong quarter, which can limit immediate upside and invite trimming by investors. Market context and rotation into other sectors can also mute the post‑earnings pop. MarketBeat Stock Data

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation NASDAQ: MNST is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company's product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen's Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.

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