Analysts Set Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target at $55.85

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.84.

Several research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $49.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.60. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.41.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 93.9% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 7,477,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,519,000 after purchasing an additional 3,620,436 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,657 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at $81,757,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 41.1% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,528,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.1% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,859,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234,718 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.