Wells Fargo & Company Trims Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Target Price to $59.00

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $59.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

MNST has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Monster Beverage from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday. They set an underperform rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $60.10.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MNST opened at $50.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MNST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 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.