MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $81.00 to $73.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. MP Materials traded as low as $43.71 and last traded at $43.8490, with a volume of 1811366 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.68.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MP. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.09. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of -104.72 and a beta of 1.86.

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

About MP Materials

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.