Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) PT Lowered to $65.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

MNST has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a buy rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $54.22. 10,018,493 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,542,921. The firm has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.86.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.