Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Invests $4.21 Million in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 58,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $97.60 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $98.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.09 and a 200-day moving average of $81.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.