Monster's New Soda Line Looking To Move Pepsi's Mountain

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) CEO Rodney Sacks didn't shy away from positioning his company's new carbonated soda line, Mutant, as a direct competitor to PepsiCo, Inc (NYSE: PEP)'s Mountain Dew, according to CLSA Americas Research.

Analysts at CLSA detailed comments Sacks made during Monster’s annual shareholder meeting, where he outlined two new product lines: Mutant and Hydro, a flavored/functional water.

Monster thinks Mutant will be able to disrupt Mountain Dew in ways other products like The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO)’s Mello Yello haven't been able to, in part due simply to its association with the Monster brand.

The foray into flavored water is also notable, given the phantom of "sugar taxes" still haunting the beverage industry.

CLSA raised their target price on Monster to $185 from $175 after the meeting.

Shares traded at $154.01, up about 0.6 percent on the day.