Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 39,131 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,298% compared to the typical volume of 2,799 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monster Beverage

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $55.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.78. Monster Beverage has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 1.8 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.