Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Given New $79.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price increased by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $79.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 1.42% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Piper Sandler set a $85.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, reaching $80.14. The company had a trading volume of 3,378,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,014,561. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.36. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $47.22 and a twelve month high of $83.24.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.