MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) fell 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $59.24 and last traded at $61.32. 6,688,242 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 8,503,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MP. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.0%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.62 and a 200-day moving average of $63.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.50 and a beta of 1.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.