Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.43.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $69.69 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $70.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.82. The company has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Monster Beverage

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.