Shares of energy drink producer Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) jumped as much as 6.3% in Friday's trading, before settling down to a milder 4.8% gain at 2:40 p.m. EDT. Several analyst firms walked away from Monster's annual shareholder meeting with the impression that it probably will raise unit prices by the end of the year.In a research note published early Friday morning, analyst firm Stifel Nicolaus noted that Monster's sales growth should continue tracking near 10% throughout 2018, while gross margins are expanding.