Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Cut to $60.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $56.19.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MNST traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.06. The stock had a trading volume of 14,553,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.26 and a 200 day moving average of $53.91. The company has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after buying an additional 49,495 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $517,035,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.