Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Raised to $65.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.88% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.11.

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Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.3 %

Monster Beverage stock traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,386,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,010,486. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.67. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.66. The stock has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.