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

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $60.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.47% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MNST. Argus increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $2.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.81. 3,938,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,350,546. The company has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.21 and a 200 day moving average of $51.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.