Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.95.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $95.15 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $99.15. The company has a market capitalization of $93.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.91.

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

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 397.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 247.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,134,000 after buying an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Monster Beverage announced a 2-for-1 stock split in the form of a 100% stock dividend, with record date set for July 24 and the split-adjusted shares expected to begin trading on August 11. Stock splits often boost investor interest and improve trading liquidity. Monster Beverage Declares Two-for-One Stock Split
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Monster Beverage to $105 from $97 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Wells Fargo price target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada increased its target to $97 from $88 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to bullish sentiment around the stock. RBC price target hike
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen also lifted its price target to $95 from $90, but kept a hold rating, suggesting limited near-term upside from its view. TD Cowen price target hike

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.