Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stake Increased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 157,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,431 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MNST. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.62.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.4%

MNST stock opened at $82.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.12 billion, a PE ratio of 46.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $82.19.

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

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

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.