39,958 Shares in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Acquired by WBI Investments LLC

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC acquired 39,958 shares of Monster Beverage, valued at approximately $2,338,000, as part of its new position during the first quarter.
• Monster Beverage's latest quarterly earnings reported $0.52 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue growth of 11.1% year-over-year.
• Overall, 72.36% of Monster Beverage's stock is held by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

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

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,175 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,712,000 after purchasing an additional 563,353 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at $497,157,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,431,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,901,000 after acquiring an additional 73,737 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,278,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872,075 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $62.83 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $61.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.28. The company has a market cap of $61.35 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $66.75.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

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.

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