Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: MPWR hit a new 52-week high of $1,377.25, and while the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" the average analyst price target of $1,218.42 sits well below the current share price even as several analysts raised targets into the $1,350–$1,396 range.
• Earnings beat and growth: Q4 results topped estimates with $4.79 EPS and $751.2M revenue (revenue up 20.8% YoY), though the shares trade at a high valuation (market cap $67.4B, P/E ~107.7).
• Dividend increase and insider activity: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.00 (annualized $8.00, ~0.6% yield), but insiders sold roughly 137,683 shares in the past three months amid heavy institutional ownership (~93.5%).

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1,377.25 and last traded at $1,372.23, with a volume of 393458 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,353.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Monolithic Power Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,375.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,300.00 price objective on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Monolithic Power Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,218.42.

Monolithic Power Systems Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,142.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,035.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.48.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $751.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $741.69 million. Monolithic Power Systems had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 22.07%.Monolithic Power Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Monolithic Power Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Monolithic Power Systems's dividend payout ratio is 62.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 21,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.16, for a total transaction of $25,443,451.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $96,448,539.48. This trade represents a 20.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Saria Tseng sold 8,963 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,305.22, for a total value of $11,698,686.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 156,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,897,351.26. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 137,683 shares of company stock valued at $158,138,447 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monolithic Power Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 88.9% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Monolithic Power Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 6.9% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 85,907 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $79,089,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,074,033 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,591,998,000 after purchasing an additional 134,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 66.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 447,801 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $412,263,000 after purchasing an additional 178,622 shares in the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monolithic Power Systems Company Profile

Monolithic Power Systems NASDAQ: MPWR is a fabless semiconductor company that designs and supplies high-performance power management solutions for a broad range of electronic systems. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, the company focuses on analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits that convert, regulate and monitor electrical power with an emphasis on efficiency, integration and power density.

MPS's product portfolio includes DC‑DC switching regulators, power modules, power management ICs (PMICs), LED drivers, battery-management ICs, motor drivers, and AC‑DC power solutions.

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