Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $97.90 and last traded at $97.4050, with a volume of 456049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $95.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.80 and its 200-day moving average is $80.96.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 over the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 355.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.