Legato Capital Management LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 36.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,395 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,617,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 20.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 41,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,238 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 24,942 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $326,000. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $332,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276 in the last ninety days. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP stock opened at $61.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.92. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $18.64 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 6.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of -117.92 and a beta of 1.55.

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.