Virtus Investment Advisers LLC Purchases New Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 647.3% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Monster Beverage to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.62.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $75.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.68. The stock has a market cap of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $75.27.

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. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 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.