MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $54.47 and last traded at $53.96. Approximately 9,003,951 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 10,577,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America raised MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Up 3.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.00 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 691,557 shares of company stock valued at $43,538,586. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 28.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.