Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target hoisted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $51.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.26.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $2.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.81. 3,938,811 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,350,546. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.08.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 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.