As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian downgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Equal Weight from Overweight after the company indicated on its Q3 earnings call that Coca-Cola (KO) has developed two energy products it believes it can market under exceptions with its non-compete restrictions with Monster. Coke has delayed the test launch until April of 2019, pending arbitration, the analyst noted. If the launches do occur they would be a competitive threat to Monster which would, along with Bang's recent success in the U.S., increase competition and in his mind lower Monster's strategic potential, Mohsenian tells investors. The analyst lowered his price target for Monster shares to $57 from $69.