Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Monster Beverage from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.00. The stock had a trading volume of 12,204,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,889,620. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.84 and its 200-day moving average is $55.78. The company has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainsail Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 18,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 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.