Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.3250.

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $48.50 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $47.50 target price (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $45.92 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.11. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $30.88 and a 1 year high of $50.17. The company has a market capitalization of $89.96 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Guy Carling sold 38,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 43,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 197,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,173,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,605,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,303,000 after acquiring an additional 116,510 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 70.7% in the first quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 85,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,218,000 after purchasing an additional 35,528 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 124,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,000 after purchasing an additional 26,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $134,431,000. 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.