Woodline Partners LP Sells 30,626 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Woodline Partners LP decreased its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 281,316 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,626 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $18,583,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $8,042,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 744,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,122,000 after acquiring an additional 106,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 67,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.81.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.6%

MNST stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.76. 1,460,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,919,336. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.39 and its 200-day moving average is $54.65. The company has a market cap of $62.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $64.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 217,112 shares of company stock worth $12,033,838 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

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.