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

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 65.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 851,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,634,310 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $42,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $52.35 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.32. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.85.

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.