Securian Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MP. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in MP Materials by 500.0% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE MP opened at $61.98 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $100.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of -87.30 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.33 and its 200 day moving average is $61.89.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 964,157 shares of company stock valued at $61,031,328 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa America raised MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials 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.