Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by Credit Suisse Group to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday. They currently have a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Credit Suisse Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.90% from the company’s current price.
A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Co upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $51.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Monster Beverage to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.99.
Shares of Monster Beverage (MNST) traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.36. 1,889,400 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,667. The company has a market cap of $35,730.00, a P/E ratio of 46.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.94. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $41.02 and a twelve month high of $64.79.
In related news, CEO Rodney C. Sacks sold 697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.51, for a total transaction of $44,963.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 963,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,174,028.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Rodney C. Sacks sold 898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.51, for a total transaction of $57,929.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,657 shares of company stock worth $12,251,775. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,432,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,412,547,000 after acquiring an additional 771,913 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,937,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,848,000 after acquiring an additional 376,666 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 0.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,053,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,955,000 after acquiring an additional 68,041 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,679,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,849,000 after acquiring an additional 463,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 19.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,132,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,607 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Monster Beverage Company Profile
Monster Beverage Corporation is a holding company. The Company develop, market, sell and distribute alternative beverage category beverages under the brand names of Monster Energy, Monster Rehab, Monster Energy Extra Strength Nitrous Technology, Java Monster, X-Presso Monster, Muscle Monster, Punch Monster, Hansen’s, Hansen’s Natural Cane Soda, Junior Juice, Blue Sky, Hubert’s, Worx Energy and Peace Tea.
