Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) PT Lowered to $56.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

MNST has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.00. 12,204,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,889,620. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22. The stock has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.78.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,668,738,000 after purchasing an additional 550,293 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,557,000 after acquiring an additional 330,740 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $517,035,000. 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.