MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky Sells 185,167 Shares

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

MP Materials Trading Down 9.6%

MP stock opened at $59.20 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.75. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $23.26 and a 52 week high of $100.25. The company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.96 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in MP Materials by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.