Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.47% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of MNST traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.81. 3,938,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,350,546. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.08. The firm has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.