Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Short Interest Update

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 23,289,703 shares, a growth of 14.6% from the February 12th total of 20,315,291 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,034,788 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,034,788 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,708,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,310,235. The stock has a market cap of $75.61 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. Monster Beverage has a one year low of $54.73 and a one year high of $87.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.62.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.38% and a net margin of 22.97%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $94.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

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.