Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $62.00 to $64.00 in a report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Argus lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST traded up $2.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,938,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,350,546. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,048,000 after buying an additional 1,229,789 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,543,000 after purchasing an additional 734,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.