Clarity Capital Partners LLC Purchases 6,220 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Clarity Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 39.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,083 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,220 shares during the period. Clarity Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after acquiring an additional 49,495 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,378,000 after buying an additional 86,050 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $517,035,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.70.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.85. 4,815,053 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,520,841. The firm has a market cap of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.96. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Profile

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.