MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $61.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. MP Materials traded as low as $51.60 and last traded at $51.7870. Approximately 3,286,299 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 6,685,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.00.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wedbush increased 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 initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654 over the last 90 days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MP Materials News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MP Materials to $71.50 from $70 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in additional upside for the shares. MP Materials price target raised by Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lowered its target to $61 from $70 but still maintained a buy rating, implying analysts continue to see meaningful upside from current levels. MP Materials price target lowered by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage notes a rare-earth talent crunch could slow the U.S. supply-chain rebuild, a backdrop that supports MP’s strategic importance but also suggests execution challenges ahead. Rare Earth Talent Crunch Could Slow US Supply Chain Rebuild
• Negative Sentiment: MP Materials filed a lawsuit against USA Rare Earth, accusing it of stealing proprietary magnet technology and unlawfully recruiting key engineers, which introduces legal uncertainty and underscores competitive pressure in the sector. MP Materials (MP) Sues USA Rare Earth Over Magnet Technology And Engineer Hiring
• Negative Sentiment: Separate business coverage also highlighted the same trade-secrets dispute, keeping attention on litigation risk rather than operations or growth catalysts. MP Materials sues competitor over trade secrets in Fort Worth Business Court

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.3%

The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.30 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.67 and a 200-day moving average of $59.41. The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.