Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 3,004,391 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 5,095.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.31% of Monster Beverage worth $179,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,262,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,340,000 after acquiring an additional 77,278 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 6,210 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 228,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,024,000 after acquiring an additional 6,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MNST. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,796 shares of company stock worth $5,399,838. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.69. The stock had a trading volume of 6,258,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,124,890. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.79 and its 200-day moving average is $55.45. The company has a market cap of $62.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $64.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

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.