MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3.8% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $59.24 and last traded at $61.32. Approximately 6,688,242 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 8,503,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.01. The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.92 and a beta of 1.55.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $557,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 26,018.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 9,627 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 59,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 30,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 12,897 shares during the period. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.