Caxton Associates LP Buys Shares of 602,143 Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 602,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,649,000. Monster Beverage makes up 1.0% of Caxton Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Caxton Associates LP owned about 0.06% of Monster Beverage at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $307,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 22.9% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,363,935 shares of the company's stock worth $71,156,000 after purchasing an additional 141,495 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $60.52. The stock had a trading volume of 3,823,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,951,124. The company's 50-day moving average is $57.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.86. The stock has a market cap of $59.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.29.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.89.

Monster Beverage 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.