Equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.23% from the company’s current price.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.35.
Monster Beverage Price Performance
Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.
Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 112.3% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 541,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,204,000 after buying an additional 286,192 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,276,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,261,000. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,532,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $908,102,000 after buying an additional 99,168 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Monster Beverage
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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