MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price rose 5.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.92 and last traded at $68.43. Approximately 10,456,198 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 10,215,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday. William Blair started coverage on MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.7%

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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.21 and its 200-day moving average is $64.08. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.97 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its 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. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,741,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,020,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $940,360,000 after acquiring an additional 363,975 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,928,000 after acquiring an additional 378,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in MP Materials by 76.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.