UPDATE: Oppenheimer Upgraded Monlithic Power and Introduced PT

In a report published Thursday, Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer upgraded Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. MPWR to Outperform and introduced a $36 PT after earnings report. Monolithic reported $65.3M in sales (an increase of 16 percent YoY) and an EPS of $0.33, beating consensus by $0.01. The company's guidance for the fourth quarter remained in-line at $63M in sales and $0.31 EPS, which is down 4 percent QoQ but ahead of seasonality. The analyst commented that Monolithic “boasts a best-in-group organic growth and GM expansion story. We are believers in mgmt's execution on the diversified growth plan.” Oppenheimer noted that Monolithic's solution mix will improve with diversification into high-margin industrial and comms markets. Schafer added that management is leveraging core competencies in process. BCD3 reduced die size by 50 percent and cost by 30 percent, in addition to the cost saving and performance of BCD4. The analyst also reported that TV and STB remain top-line contributors. Schafer's CY14 EPS estimate increased from $1.35 to $1.45. The analyst introduced a CY15 estimated EPS of $1.75. Monolithic closed at $27.59 on Thursday and is currently trading at +16.82 percent.