MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 8.3% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price traded up 8.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.07 and last traded at $69.1450. 12,290,448 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 9,784,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. William Blair started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Up 8.3%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51. The company has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.39 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,003,091 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 168.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,908 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 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.