Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 222.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,296 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,697 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 49.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 647.3% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MNST. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.95.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $77.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.88, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.48. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $78.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.35.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.