Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 2.3%, selling 15,200 shares and now owning 639,022 shares valued at approximately $37.4 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Monster Beverage, with over 72.36% of the stock held by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with the average price target currently set at $65.10 and a consensus rating of "Hold".

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,022 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of Monster Beverage worth $37,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.2% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MNST traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $63.02. The company had a trading volume of 4,189,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,060,757. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.17.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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.