Ion Asset Management Ltd. Sells 18,445 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Ion Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 58.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,445 shares during the period. Ion Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MP. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the third quarter valued at $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 100,915 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth about $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth about $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MP Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $57.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $18.64 and a 12 month high of $100.25. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.98 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.65 and its 200 day moving average is $63.36.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Securities raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

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.