Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $59.07 and last traded at $59.04, with a volume of 5033887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.77 and a 200 day moving average of $52.58. The firm has a market cap of $58.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST – Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

(Get Free Report)

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.

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