MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 3.7% Higher – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares traded up 3.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $71.37 and last traded at $72.0990. 8,802,200 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 6,925,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.5520.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.71. The stock has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -163.61 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. MP Materials’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,020. This trade represents a 26.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,066,000 shares of company stock worth $69,329,207 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.