Insider Selling: Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Director Sells 206,543 Shares of Stock

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Director Rodney Sacks sold 206,543 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.34. The company had a trading volume of 5,052,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,896,610. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.67. The company has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.48. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $76.28.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 49.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 16,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.64.

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.