Credit Suisse analyst Laurent Grandet initiated coverage on Monster Beverage with an Outperform and a $187 price target saying the company has exceptionally strong fundamentals. The analyst expects strong growth, and potentially accelerate, as the company continues to broaden its range and expand geographically driven by the Coke deal.
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JPMorgan analyst Andrea Teixeira downgraded Monster Beverage to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $59, down from $66, ahead of the company's Q1 earnings report on May 8. While the shares have already sold off, there are limited catalysts to the upside at this point as "long-hoped for potential price increases somehow lost their attractiveness" due to the latest run up in aluminum prices and an already-stretched lower income consumer, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Moreover, the firm says Monster's tracked and untracked channel trends are still challenged and it appears that household penetration and buy rates are pressured.