Monks (LON:MNKS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Monks (LON:MNKS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 1,556 and last traded at GBX 1,556, with a volume of 324504 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,550.

Key Stories Impacting Monks

Here are the key news stories impacting Monks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Monks announced a buyback of 325,000 ordinary shares for treasury holdings — a direct capital-return / share-count reduction that supports NAV per share and is typically viewed positively by investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental/valuation tailwinds: the trust shows a low P/E (~5.5) and strong reported metrics (GBX 0.90 EPS last quarter, ROE ~24%, reported net margin ~97%), which can attract value-oriented buyers given current pricing and NAV dynamics. (Company filings / market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Extensive media coverage in U.S. local outlets about a “Walk for Peace” by Buddhist monks is generating headlines that include the word “Monks.” This is unrelated to Monks Investment Trust but could produce short-term search/attention noise and occasional misdirected coverage. Representative coverage: Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical / trading context: volume today is below the 3‑month average, the share price sits near its 52‑week high and above both the 50‑ and 200‑day simple moving averages — signals that can support momentum but may also limit upside without fresh catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet/liquidity concerns: current ratio (~0.67) and quick ratio (~0.22) indicate limited short-term liquidity, and reported debt-to-equity (~8.47) is elevated — factors investors should monitor for risk, especially if markets turn volatile.

Monks Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 1,472.07 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 1,429.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.47, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of £2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.71.

Monks (LON:MNKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 0.90 EPS for the quarter. Monks had a net margin of 96.67% and a return on equity of 24.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David Ballance acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 1,489 per share, for a total transaction of £59,560. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Monks

The Trust aims for long-term capital growth which takes priority over income. This is pursued through applying a patient approach to investment, principally from a differentiated, actively managed global equity portfolio containing a diversified range of growth stocks – companies with above average earnings growth – which we expect to hold for around five years on average. Investments are made on an unconstrained basis. The portfolio, which includes stocks with a range of different growth profiles, will typically contain 100+ stocks from around the world and Monks should not be viewed as a proxy for any index.