Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 63,800 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Monster Beverage by 13%, selling 63,800 shares and leaving them with approximately $24.89 million in holdings.
• Monster Beverage reported a quarterly EPS of $0.52, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $2.11 billion during the period.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with Bank of America increasing its target from $66 to $72, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock.

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,800 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $24,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.2% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.3%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $62.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $60.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.37. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.10.

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.

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