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

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MNST. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $54.65 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.15. The company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,942,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.