Monster Beverage’s (MNST) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $59.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.42.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $48.28 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $46.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after buying an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,148.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,596,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,480,000 after buying an additional 2,388,798 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $73,600,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.