Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 34,725 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 554% compared to the average volume of 5,306 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MNST. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,789 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,543,000 after buying an additional 734,406 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.92. 4,568,479 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,336,018. Monster Beverage has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

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.