Woodline Partners LP Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Woodline Partners LP reduced its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 281,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,626 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 217,112 shares of company stock valued at $12,033,838. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $63.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $63.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Monster Beverage

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.