New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $7.29 Million Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 108,744 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,544 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $7,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 4,600.0% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 500.0% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $25,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE MP opened at $66.55 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $18.64 and a 12 month high of $100.25. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.23 and a 200-day moving average of $62.57. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of -93.74 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Daiwa America raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MP Materials 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.