Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $389,000 in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP has acquired 6,644 shares of Monster Beverage Corporation, valued at approximately $389,000, during the first quarter.
• Insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares at an average price of $62.46, while CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares at $63.40, both resulting in significant decreases in their respective positions.
• In terms of stock performance, Monster Beverage reported $2.11 billion in revenue for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with earnings per share of $0.52 compared to the forecasted $0.48.

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company's stock worth $3,791,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,175 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company's stock worth $535,712,000 after acquiring an additional 563,353 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock worth $386,732,000 after acquiring an additional 825,489 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock worth $284,146,000 after acquiring an additional 493,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company's stock worth $303,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,466 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. CICC Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,845,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,720,911. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.59. The stock has a market cap of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.