Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $59.07 and last traded at $59.04, with a volume of 5033887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MNST. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.67.

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Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.