Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 180,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,969 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.17.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $61.14 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.83. The stock has a market cap of $59.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.88 and a 200-day moving average of $53.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Profile

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.