Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) Trading Up 3.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report) was up 3.9% during trading on Monday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock to $850.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Monolithic Power Systems traded as high as $690.88 and last traded at $679.86. Approximately 92,589 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 537,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $654.31.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MPWR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Monolithic Power Systems from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Monolithic Power Systems from $500.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Monolithic Power Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $670.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monolithic Power Systems

In other news, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.26, for a total transaction of $1,508,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 84,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,137,143.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Hsing sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.44, for a total transaction of $5,419,520.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 899,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,175,726.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.26, for a total value of $1,508,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 84,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,137,143.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,982 shares of company stock valued at $36,880,924 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in Monolithic Power Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Monolithic Power Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Monolithic Power Systems Trading Up 4.1 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $692.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $592.02. The company has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 77.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.24.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.17). Monolithic Power Systems had a net margin of 23.47% and a return on equity of 22.66%. The company had revenue of $454.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $452.13 million. Research analysts expect that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Monolithic Power Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Monolithic Power Systems's payout ratio is 57.08%.

About Monolithic Power Systems

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of semiconductor-based power electronics solutions for the storage and computing, automotive, enterprise data, consumer, communications, and industrial markets. The company provides direct current (DC) to DC integrated circuits (ICs) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as cloud-based CPU servers, server artificial intelligence applications, storage applications, commercial notebooks, digital cockpit, power sources, home appliances, 4G and 5G infrastructure, and satellite communications applications.