William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,999,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,155 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $201,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the second 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 period. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $85.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.45. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.90 and a 52-week high of $87.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.47.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.97% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Monster Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and underlying momentum — MNST reported $0.51 EPS vs. $0.49 expected and $2.10B revenue vs. $2.04B expected; revenue rose ~17.6% YoY and margins expanded, driven by core energy?drink strength and international growth. This is the primary catalyst supporting the stock. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms raised targets (examples: Jefferies and Citi to $100, Deutsche Bank/Wells Fargo/Piper Sandler to ~$94, Stifel/UBS raised targets into the low?$90s), signaling buy/overweight views that support further upside. Representative coverage of these moves is available. TickerReport: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and disclosures — Transcripts and highlights detail international expansion, segment trends and management commentary that investors will review for sustainability of growth; these items clarify future guidance but are information?driven rather than immediate catalysts. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo: Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and mixed analyst views cap near?term gains — MNST trades at a high P/E (around 48x) and some large brokers maintain neutral/hold ratings or offer targets implying limited upside (JPMorgan’s target is lower than the current price), which can pressure the stock after a run. See current market summary for valuation context. MarketBeat: Stock Summary
• Negative Sentiment: High trading volume suggests profit?taking — Volume has run above average on the news day, consistent with short?term traders and some shareholders locking gains after the stock’s recent run toward its 12?month high.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,368.09. This trade represents a 31.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.