Monster Amps Up Its Share of Energy Drink Market

New Nielsen data suggests that Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) may have seized some more of the energy drink market during the month of September.

The data for the four-week period ending September 29 was crunched by analyst firm ST Robinson Humphrey and shows that Monster’s energy drink sales rose 17.8 percent, compared to its 15.9 percent sales increase during the previous month.

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As a whole, the energy drink category grew 16.3 percent during September, showing negligible growth versus August’s results. This suggests Monster may have gained about 1.1 points of market share. Accordingly, ST Robinson Humphrey labeled Monster with a Buy rating and a target price of $90.

The market for energy-boosting drinks like Monster and Red Bull has continued to enjoy success despite increased efforts by traditional beverage giants like Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) to attract consumers with alternatives. However, Coke, for one, maintains strong faith in its Coke Zero and PowerAde offerings, which Chief Executive Muhtar Kent emphasized in an earnings call this week are coming off strong quarterly performances which he expects will continue going forward.

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