Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Raises Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 160.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 68,714 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,380 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.9% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 159.1% in the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 16,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 10,378 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.1% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $1,065,000. Finally, Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $237,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MNST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $69.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $69.28.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.