Defender Capital LLC. Has $20.63 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Defender Capital LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 352,625 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,407 shares during the period. Monster Beverage accounts for approximately 8.2% of Defender Capital LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $20,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 6,210 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $460,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 423,548 shares of the company's stock worth $24,786,000 after purchasing an additional 15,493 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $9,688,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.04. 5,051,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,002,063. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $64.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.29.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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.