MQS Management LLC Makes New $771,000 Investment in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• MQS Management LLC opened a new position in Monster Beverage, buying 10,640 shares worth about $771,000 in the first quarter. The stock now represents 0.5% of the firm’s holdings and is its 29th-largest position.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Monster Beverage, with 14 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings. The consensus view is a Moderate Buy, and the average price target is $89.35.
• Monster recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.58 EPS on revenue of $2.32 billion, and its board approved a $500 million share buyback. The stock was trading near its 12-month high at $96.15.

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $771,000. Monster Beverage comprises 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.5%

MNST opened at $96.15 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $97.87. The stock has a market cap of $94.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.45, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.80 and a 200-day moving average of $80.96.

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

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total transaction of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

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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