Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MNST. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two 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, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.8 %

MNST traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.41. 7,138,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,099,589. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.14. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $60.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock worth $451,543,000 after acquiring an additional 734,406 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,732,000 after acquiring an additional 825,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,146,000 after purchasing an additional 493,914 shares during the period. 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.