UBS Group Trims Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Target Price to $51.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $55.00 to $51.00 in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MNST. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an underperform rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $46.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, July 1st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.15.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of MNST stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,618,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.83. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 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.