Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 2,428,401 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management more than doubled its Monster Beverage stake in the third quarter, purchasing 2.43 million additional shares to own 4.58 million shares valued at approximately $190.5 million.
• Other institutions also increased their holdings, with institutional investors collectively owning 72.36% of Monster Beverage.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 16 Buy or Strong Buy ratings versus eight Holds and a consensus price target of $74.07. Monster also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 earnings per share and $2.50 billion in revenue.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 113.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,576,063 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,428,401 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.23% of Monster Beverage worth $190,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 89.1% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 13,105,329 shares of the company's stock worth $545,444,000 after buying an additional 6,175,047 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 98.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd now owns 36,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 18,214 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 135,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 65,514 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 855,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,605,000 after buying an additional 399,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,420 shares of the company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 7,443 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $45.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $48.50 target price (down from $97.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $47.50 target price (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $108.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.07.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $45.34 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $44.69 and its 200 day moving average is $44.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.82 billion, a PE ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.49. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $32.94 and a 1 year high of $50.17.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The firm's revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation is a beverage company that develops, markets, and distributes energy drinks and related alternative beverages. Its flagship Monster Energy brand offers a range of energy drinks in multiple flavors and formulations, including products designed for performance, focus, and lifestyle-oriented consumption.

The company's portfolio also includes brands such as Reign, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, and Mother, along with other energy and beverage products sold under regional or strategic brand arrangements.

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