Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $72.88 and last traded at $72.75, with a volume of 824148 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.62.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.10. The stock has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $544,584,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth $497,157,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,262,000 after buying an additional 7,137,552 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 467.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,538,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789,273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.