Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Upgraded to “Neutral” at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BNP Paribas Exane currently has $77.00 target price on the stock.

MNST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $83.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.74.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MNST opened at $78.17 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $79.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.46.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 274,981 shares of company stock valued at $20,138,516 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 222.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 50,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after buying an additional 34,697 shares in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 76.4% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 108,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,165 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 449.4% in the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 21,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 17,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 87.8% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 15,029 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.