SSA Swiss Advisors AG Takes $3.48 Million Position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

SSA Swiss Advisors AG acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 59,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,000. Monster Beverage comprises 1.8% of SSA Swiss Advisors AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.91.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $61.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.04 and a 200-day moving average of $57.45. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $64.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.