Caprock Group LLC Takes Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 49,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,060,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research lowered Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.90.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $81.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.12, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.65. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $48.39 and a 1 year high of $83.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, 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 transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.