Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 1,634,310 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 851,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,634,310 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Monster Beverage worth $42,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,548.9% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 263,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,161,000 after buying an additional 247,497 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,760,000 after acquiring an additional 369,838 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 32,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 183.2% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 78,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,933,000 after purchasing an additional 50,939 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 14.0% in the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $52.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.32.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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.