MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 8.6% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) dropped 8.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $62.68 and last traded at $63.2660. Approximately 6,689,942 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 7,117,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities raised MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.08.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of -121.67 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.07. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The business had revenue of $52.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 346,000 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,816 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.