Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $79.16 and last traded at $79.5410, with a volume of 1000159 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $73.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.74.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 4.2%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.12 and a 200 day moving average of $68.10. The company has a market cap of $79.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 274,981 shares of company stock valued at $20,138,516 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.