Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 536,444 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 21.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,030,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 536,444 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $203,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,360,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,094,207,000 after purchasing an additional 574,275 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,929,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,188,004,000 after buying an additional 900,479 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 26,450,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,656,847,000 after acquiring an additional 385,692 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,680,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,165,292,000 after acquiring an additional 742,518 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 20.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,983,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,064 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $73.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler set a $85.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total transaction of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 274,981 shares of company stock valued at $20,138,516 in the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $75.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.75. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.70 and a 52 week high of $76.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a PE ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.48.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.