Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock: ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stake

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,164,706 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,146,007 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Monster Beverage worth $90,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 120.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 70,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 38,593 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 84,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,534,000 after acquiring an additional 10,756 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 30,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 15,216 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 99.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $47.34 on Monday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $32.94 and a 12 month high of $50.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.09.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $47.50 price target (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.86.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.