MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) dropped 5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $57.74 and last traded at $58.50. Approximately 5,942,464 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 8,333,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. TD Securities raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.04 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 338,146 shares of company stock valued at $21,535,376. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in MP Materials by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after buying an additional 51,348 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.