Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 172,729 shares of the company’s stock after selling 241,137 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $8,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MP. Norges Bank bought a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,531,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in MP Materials by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,834,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,307 shares during the period. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd raised its holdings in MP Materials by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 1,320.8% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 954,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 887,148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $53.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.55. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.44 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $29.58 and a one year high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654 in the last ninety days. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price target on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

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.