Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 13,947 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,947 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,152,959.62. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $92.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.91 billion, a PE ratio of 44.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.56. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $93.92.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.