Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $90.49 and last traded at $90.15, with a volume of 6566664 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MNST. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.05.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.60 and a 200 day moving average of $78.76. The firm has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.55, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462 over the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 355.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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.