Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $3.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.73. 14,099,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,954,324. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $72.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.47.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 289.0% during the third quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 47,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 35,500 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 16,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 28,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 11,633 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 22.7% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares in 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.