Zacks Research Upgrades Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) to “Strong-Buy”

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.62.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,258,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,963,053. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $72.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.77. The stock has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.