Monster Beverage’s (MNST) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $64.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Monster Beverage from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $60.05.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $49.16 on Monday. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after buying an additional 49,495 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,378,000 after purchasing an additional 86,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently 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.