WBI Investments LLC Buys New Shares in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.4% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 315,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 76.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 28,932 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,289,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,455,000 after purchasing an additional 11,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 423,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,786,000 after purchasing an additional 15,493 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MNST. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.8%

MNST stock opened at $62.83 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.28. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The firm has a market cap of $61.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.