01:05 PM EDT, 06/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We set our 12-month target at $65, representing an estimated 2025 P/E of 43.3x. We initiate coverage at Hold, as we see adj-EPS growth to $1.10 in 2024 and $1.50 in 2025 from $0.03 in 2022 and $0.79 in 2023. While we consider CELH to be one of the beverage industry's best growth stories, we think the stock's current valuation reflects it. Over the past few years, Celsius has become a bona fide competitor to Monster and Red Bull in the energy drinks space, the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. non-alcohol beverage market in 2023 (sales volume +5.7% and retail sales dollars +13.3% Y/Y, according to Beverage Marketing Corporation data), representing a bright spot for a market that saw a 1.2% volume decline last year, the steepest drop since 2009. We think CELH's strong balance sheet ($878M of net cash) and robust free cash flow are positives, but slowing growth rates are a concern. Notably, the stock's short interest has recently come down to roughly half the level it was a few months ago (~9% of the float).