AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,441 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at $544,584,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,262,000 after buying an additional 7,137,552 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 467.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,996,000 after acquiring an additional 5,641,160 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $157,063,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,121,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948,827 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of MNST opened at $80.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.36. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.57 and a 52 week high of $83.24. The stock has a market cap of $79.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.97, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 274,981 shares of company stock valued at $20,138,516 over the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Argus lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.71.

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.