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A look at Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) -- two underloved outperformers
Forbes came out with its annual billionaires list this week. Of course, the list was full of the usual suspects, including Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bill Gates -- the world's richest man -- and Facebook Inc's (NASDAQ:FB) Mark Zuckerberg, the wealthiest person under 40. However, there were a couple newcomers worth noting, including the CEOs of Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Rodney Sacks of MNST appeared on the list with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Shares of his company have been locked in an uptrend, adding 90% year-over-year to trade at $139.90. The stock is off to a fast start in 2015, too, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 23 percentage points over the last 40 sessions.
However, not everyone is in MNST's bullish corner, yet. Seven out of 13 covering analysts have doled out tepid "hold" ratings, and the equity's average 12-month price target of $144.93 represents a less than 4% premium to current trading levels. In other words, a round of bullish brokerage attention could intensify buying power on the shares.
What's more, put buying has been running fast and furious in Monster Beverage Corp's (NASDAQ:MNST) options pits. The security's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.44 across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands in the 90th annual percentile. While a portion of these wagers may be the work of shareholders hedging, a capitulation among "vanilla" bears could lead to tailwinds.
Moving along, NFLX's Reed Hastings squeaked onto the Forbes list with a net worth of $1 billion. Shares of his company have been on the up-and-up, too, tacking on more than 37% year-to-date to trade at $469.69. Sparking the rally was an earnings beat in late January. Notably, the security is once again approaching its Sept. 9 record high of $489.29.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) still has plenty of detractors, though. Half of the analysts tracking the shares rate them a "hold" or worse, and the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $445.51 is at a discount to the current price. In other words, NFLX could benefit from a series of upgrades and/or price-target hikes.