MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 2.2% – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $60.75 and last traded at $61.1280. Approximately 9,282,073 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 9,113,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MP. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -86.10 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 691,557 shares of company stock worth $43,538,586 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in MP Materials by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in MP Materials by 168.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in MP Materials by 181.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.