Axiom Investors LLC DE Takes $1.08 Million Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE has purchased 18,484 shares of Monster Beverage Corporation, valued at approximately $1,082,000, adding to the growing interest from institutional investors in the company's stock.
• Monster Beverage's recent quarterly earnings showed an 11.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.11 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates and resulting in earnings per share of $0.52.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on MNST's stock; while Bank of America and Wells Fargo have set price targets of $72.00 and $73.00 respectively, Rothschild & Co. lowered its rating from "buy" to "neutral" with a target of $60.00.

Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,082,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 7,527 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5%

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.02. 4,328,982 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,135,654. The stock has a market cap of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.