Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Cut to $63.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $65.00 to $63.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 17.41% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MNST. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.68.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $53.66. 298,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,325,433. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $55.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.68.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $517,035,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 143.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,209,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 61.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,713,000 after buying an additional 1,307,482 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Monster Beverage

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.