GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Invests $9.69 Million in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 184,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,688,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 217,112 shares of company stock worth $12,033,838. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $64.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,266,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,933,942. The stock has a market cap of $62.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $64.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $59.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current 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.