Clearstead Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Clearstead Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 48.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,115 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 222.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 50,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 34,697 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 108,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,823,000 after buying an additional 47,165 shares in the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 449.4% during the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 21,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 17,974 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 87.8% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 15,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,170,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $85.54 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.07. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.93 and a 1-year high of $85.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.60, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.45.

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.