Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $105.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 8.34% from the stock’s previous close.

MNST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $96.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.82, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $99.15.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.