Today’s 3 Best Stocks: Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) and More

Well folks, we can’t go up every day! The broad-based S&P 500 took it on the chin today, weighed down by a weak industrial production report, and purportedly weak retail sales figures from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) .

Industrial production dipped by 0.1% in the month of January following a 0.4% increase in Dec. 2012. Economists had been expecting industrial production to rise by 0.2%, but a 0.4% drop in manufacturing output, and a 1% drop in mining production, stymied those hopes.

On the retail front, a report from Bloomberg notes that a mid-level executive’s email at Wal-Mart commented that sales in February are off to the worst start of any month in the past seven years. Wal-Mart’s management team blamed the poor performance on higher payroll taxes and delayed tax returns, which reduced spending in its stores.

All told, the reports above helped push the S&P 500 down by 1.59 points (-0.10%), to close at 1,519.79. Although the mood was noticeably somber, there were still plenty of outperformers within the index today. Here’s a glimpse at today’s three best stocks.

As has been the trend all week, obscure companies that don’t often find their way into the spotlight led the charge. Today, packaging and container supplier MeadWestvaco Corp. (NYSE:MWV) jumped 12.5%, following the announcement that Trian Fund Management, run by activist investor Nelson Peltz, had purchased 1.6 million shares of MeadWestvaco’s stock, or about a 1% stake. Peltz’s Trian Fund took a 7.3% stake in Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE:IR) last year, which resulted in a board seat and an eventual spinoff of Ingersoll-Rand’s security technology business. Shareholders of MeadWestvaco have to be excited that Peltz and his fund may wind up offering similar strategic alternatives to MeadWestvaco.

Shares of Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) made a monster move higher, gaining 7.1%, after rumors resurfaced that it could be the target of a takeover. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, comments offered by various online investing sites appear to be buoying today’s share price jump. Although the growth prospects of the energy market are incredibly appealing, an acquirer would have to cope with the possibility of industry-wide regulation of energy drinks if they were to purchase Monster Beverage. I’m not one to buy into rumors, and would simply prefer to stay on the sidelines at the moment.