Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 170,014 Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd initiated a new position in Monster Beverage, buying 170,014 shares valued at about $12.3 million in the first quarter.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $0.58 per share and revenue of $2.32 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue also rose 22.6% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains fairly positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $89.35, while the company also authorized a $500 million share repurchase program.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 170,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,319,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen 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, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $97.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.30. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $98.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Monster Beverage

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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