Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5 %

MNST opened at $51.92 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Argus lifted 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. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.63.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 7.80% 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.