Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 821.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 342,156 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 305,038 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 101.6% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 57,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 29,014 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 97.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,308 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 97.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 146,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,081,000 after buying an additional 72,173 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 399.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 33,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 26,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,907,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.1%

MNST opened at $45.40 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.03 and a twelve month high of $50.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.09, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.37.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 24.99%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $49.50 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.07.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation develops, markets and sells energy drinks and other beverages. Its portfolio includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS and Full Throttle, along with products in categories such as sports drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages. The company traces its roots to Hansen’s, a beverage business established in the 1930s. It introduced the Monster Energy brand in 2002 and adopted the Monster Beverage name in 2012. Based in Corona, California, Monster sells its products in the United States and internationally.