Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) fell Monday after analysts at Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) downgraded the stock to “market perform” from “outperform”. The downgrade stemmed from expectations of weak second revenue growth, as well as a delayed release of the company Mutant and Hydro drinks in the fourth quarter.
In an analyst note, Wells Fargo said it still had “a favorable outlook in the long term”, but added “over the short term we have concerns given soft results in Q2 and delays in launching new innovation”. The company’s partnership with Coca-Cola (KO) last year has helped to expand its reach in the U.S. and internationally. Still though, Monster’s growth may be stunted outside the U.S. by macroeconomic challenges, a few territorial disputes with Coca-Cola, and a disappointing introduction in China, the firm also noted.
MNST was down more than 3.5% in late afternoon trading. The company has been a consistently solid performer over in the last year or so, but the downgrade from WFC hit the stock hard. If it is able to report better than expected sales and earnings numbers, the stock could see a jump higher. Its next earnings report though isn’t scheduled until August, so investors will have to wait to see those results.
Year-to-date Monster Beverage Corp. is up nearly 5%, and is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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