MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) traded up 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.30 and last traded at $62.01. 3,181,996 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 10,849,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MP shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.73.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.34 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.46. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The firm had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total transaction of $1,154,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,244,548.64. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 248,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $15,863,526.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,369,665 shares in the company, valued at $853,786,806.90. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,091 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,705,000 after buying an additional 1,624,908 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth $34,288,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the second 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 during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.