MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $54.07 and last traded at $55.46. Approximately 3,787,251 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 6,857,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.38 and a 200-day moving average of $59.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.44 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654 over the last three months. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in MP Materials by 26.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after buying an additional 51,348 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.