The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $80.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.30% from the stock’s previous close.

MNST has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.45.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $73.26 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $76.28. The company has a market capitalization of $71.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.01 and a 200-day moving average of $65.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.