Short Interest in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Rises By 109.4%

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 38,435,879 shares, an increase of 109.4% from the July 30th total of 18,354,341 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,315,301 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $46.86 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a 1-year low of $30.88 and a 1-year high of $50.17.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley set a $51.50 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $47.50 price objective (up from $36.50) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $45.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $48.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Guy Carling sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 43,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 637,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,844,000 after purchasing an additional 21,169 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 197,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,173,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,605,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,303,000 after purchasing an additional 116,510 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 70.7% during the first quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 85,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,218,000 after purchasing an additional 35,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 124,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,000 after buying an additional 26,419 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.