MP Materials Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 10,089 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 136% compared to the average volume of 4,280 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on MP Materials from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $26.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 5,770 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in MP Materials by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,197,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the third quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 12.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,293,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,803,000 after acquiring an additional 246,534 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Price Performance

NYSE MP traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,807,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,517,885. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.24 and a 200 day moving average of $16.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 126.31, a P/E/G ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 10.42 and a quick ratio of 9.54. MP Materials has a one year low of $12.68 and a one year high of $26.53.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). MP Materials had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 3.86%. The company had revenue of $41.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.40 million. Analysts expect that MP Materials will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.