MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 5.5% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price fell 5.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $56.58 and last traded at $57.23. 6,624,593 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 9,788,421 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MP shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. William Blair began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of -80.61 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.96 and its 200-day moving average is $64.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,519,000 after purchasing an additional 459,213 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in MP Materials by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,928,000 after purchasing an additional 378,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 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.