Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,963 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 187.6% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of Monster Beverage 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374 in the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.76. 849,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,244,033. The company has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.02.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 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.