Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $59.04 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.53. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $59.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,543,000 after purchasing an additional 734,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,732,000 after buying an additional 825,489 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is 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.