Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys 31,325 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 68.9% in the second quarter, owning a total of 76,781 shares valued at approximately $4.81 million.
• Multiple analysts have revised their ratings on MNST, with Bank of America raising its price target to $75.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold."
• Monster Beverage reported earnings per share of $0.52 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and achieving a revenue of $2.11 billion, up 11.1% from the previous year.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 68.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,781 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,325 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Atlantic cut Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $68.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $67.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day moving average price is $64.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.16. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $70.06.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.

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