Aquatic Capital Management LLC Invests $3.18 Million in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 60,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.39.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $58.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.48. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.