Knuff & Co LLC Has $4.80 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Knuff & Co LLC reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 11.7% in the first quarter, now holding 81,987 shares worth approximately $4.80 million.
• Wall Street ratings on Monster Beverage show a mix of opinions, with 13 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 2 sell ratings, leading to a consensus "Hold" rating and an average price target of $65.10.
• Monster Beverage recently reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $2.11 billion, up 11.1% year-over-year.

Knuff & Co LLC trimmed its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,826 shares during the period. Monster Beverage comprises about 1.6% of Knuff & Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Knuff & Co LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $43,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Monster Beverage from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $64.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 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 business's 50 day moving average is $61.61 and its 200-day moving average is $58.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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