Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 14,511 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 11.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 146,345 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,511 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth $37,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.00. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.79.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.