iSAM Funds UK Ltd Makes New $1.69 Million Investment in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 222.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 50,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after buying an additional 34,697 shares during the period. Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.4% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 108,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,165 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 449.4% in the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 21,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 17,974 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 87.8% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 15,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at $59,170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.14.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $77.11 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.22 and a fifty-two week high of $87.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.36. The firm has a market cap of $75.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.38% and a net margin of 22.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.