Stifel Nicolaus Initiates Coverage on Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.18% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MNST. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $63.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.50.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by 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.