Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective increased by analysts at Bank of America from $75.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.74% from the stock’s previous close.

MNST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of MNST stock traded up $4.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,626,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,905,533. The company has a market cap of $69.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $72.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.36.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 35.3% in the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 5,781 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 202.7% during the first quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 7,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.1% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,191,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,054,000 after purchasing an additional 22,960 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.