Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 5.1%, accumulating a total of 163,962 shares worth approximately $9.6 million.
• Recent analyst reports led to varied price target adjustments for Monster Beverage, with Roth Capital raising theirs from $50 to $56 and Citigroup increasing theirs from $64 to $70, indicating overall market optimism.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 35,796 shares by key executives, prompting a decrease in their ownership but highlighting ongoing confidence in the company's prospects.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,962 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 28.6% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.02. 12,248,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,052,162. 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 company has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.59.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.