MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $51.62 and last traded at $51.8590. 4,678,498 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 10,455,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MP. Bank of America upped their price target on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.8%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.04 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 691,557 shares of company stock valued at $43,538,586 over the last quarter. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position 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 worth $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $173,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,908 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 429.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by 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.