Monster Beverage Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MNST)

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 34,725 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 554% compared to the average daily volume of 5,306 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5 %

MNST stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.