Inspire Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,729 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 187.6% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,742,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,438,657. The company has a market capitalization of $52.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.81.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,404,574. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lowered Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.48.

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.