Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.20 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 91.5% in Q1 2023, owning 37,571 shares worth approximately $2.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Monster Beverage, with price targets ranging from $54.00 to $71.00, while maintaining an average rating of "Hold."
• Insider trading activity includes CFO Thomas J. Kelly selling 27,000 shares at an average price of $63.40, representing a 28.05% decrease in his ownership.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 91.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,571 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,947 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,575,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $110,942,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the first quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company's stock worth $303,728,000 after buying an additional 1,897,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 5,880.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,254,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,286 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.2%

MNST traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $60.80. The stock had a trading volume of 8,970,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,165,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $64.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.81.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.91.

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.