Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 7.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.35.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $97.50 on Thursday. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $100.34. The stock has a market cap of $95.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.97 and its 200-day moving average is $82.88.

Monster Beverage’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, July 8th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at $7,028,347.48. The trade was a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 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.