Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $509.11 and last traded at $512.28, with a volume of 533613 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $590.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPWR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Monolithic Power Systems from $710.00 to $665.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $600.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $660.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $851.58.

Monolithic Power Systems Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $633.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $691.97. The company has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.21.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($0.84). Monolithic Power Systems had a return on equity of 20.36% and a net margin of 80.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Monolithic Power Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Monolithic Power Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 16.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.98, for a total value of $4,913,860.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,242,209.70. This represents a 30.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monolithic Power Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 262.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 52.4% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,556 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH bought a new stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $19,507,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems during the first quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 119.5% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 270 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.