MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 6.1% – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $38.06 and last traded at $37.5580. 7,263,665 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 6,390,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.41.

Key MP Materials News

Investors following MP have been watching these news items:

• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lowered its price target to $40 from $53 but maintained a “buy” rating, signaling reduced upside expectations rather than a change to its positive recommendation. Deutsche Bank price-target update
• Neutral Sentiment: China extended its rare-earth export reprieve ahead of planned U.S.-China talks, easing near-term pressure on global buyers; the implications for MP’s pricing and demand are uncertain. Report on federal stake scrutiny and export reprieve
• Negative Sentiment: Other analyst coverage is less favorable: Canaccord issued a pessimistic forecast, and Barclays lowered its price target, adding to concerns about valuation and the outlook. Canaccord forecast Barclays target cut

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $65.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.0%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.14. The company has a quick ratio of 6.04, a current ratio of 6.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of -167.32 and a beta of 2.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.06. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 0.05%. The company had revenue of $147.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in MP Materials by 73.3% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems. The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.