Monster Beverage's stock surges after Jefferies upgrades to buy

Monster Beverage Corp.'s stock ran up 4.8% in afternoon trade, after the energy drinks company was upgraded at Jefferies, which cited accelerating U.S. sales trends and a more attractive valuation given its recent underperformance. Analyst Kevin Grundy raised his rating to buy from hold, and made the stock one of his top picks. Given President-elect Donald Trump's policy promises of being tough on trade and corporate tax reform, he believes investors in the consumer products and beverage sectors should favor U.S. centric companies, to avoid potential headwinds of a stronger U.S. dollar and to have greater benefit from tax cuts. Grundy said Monster's stock is being valued below its historical average, and there's always a possibility that Monster's largest shareholder, Coca-Cola Co. , may decide to buy the shares it doesn't already own. Coke owned 17.9% of Monster's shares outstanding, according to a Sept. 1 regulatory filing. The stock has lost 8.2% year to date, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 3.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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