Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Bought by Axecap Investments LLC

Axecap Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 115,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,076 shares during the period. Monster Beverage makes up approximately 2.9% of Axecap Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,770,004,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 89.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 13,105,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,444,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175,047 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,532,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $908,102,000 after acquiring an additional 99,168 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,637,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 27.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,465,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,416 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5%

MNST opened at $47.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.31. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $32.94 and a 12-month high of $50.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.56, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.50 target price (down from $97.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.07.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.