MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 1.1% Higher – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.19 and last traded at $48.0030. 7,362,848 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 6,608,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of -114.29 and a beta of 1.88. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.