Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P lessened its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,496 shares during the period. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $58.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.33. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.09.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Company 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.