JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its target price upped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 3.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MNST. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 5.3 %

MNST opened at $54.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $101,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $110,942,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $1,031,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.