Element Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Element Capital Management initiated a new position in Monster Beverage, buying 20,169 shares worth about $1.55 million in the fourth quarter.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 beating estimates and revenue of $2.32 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $500 million share buyback, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.35.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 397.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 247.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Argus raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $91.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $93.92.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.Monster Beverage's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation NASDAQ: MNST is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company's product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen's Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.

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