Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $99.15 and last traded at $98.6510, with a volume of 754579 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.37.

Monster Beverage News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Monster Beverage to $105 from $97 and kept an overweight rating, signaling meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $97 from $88 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen also increased its price target on Monster Beverage to $95 from $90, though it kept a hold rating, suggesting analysts see the stock as fairly valued but still supported. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Monster Beverage announced a two-for-one stock split via a 100% stock dividend, with record date July 24 and split-adjusted trading expected to begin August 11. Stock splits often improve liquidity and can attract broader retail interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage discussed Monster’s energy drink business and competitive positioning, but it did not appear to change the investment outlook materially. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.95.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $93.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.91.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth 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. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 355.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 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.