Nebula Research & Development LLC Acquires New Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 67,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,522,000. Monster Beverage accounts for about 0.4% of Nebula Research & Development LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $60.04. 1,661,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,311,141. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $56.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.