MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 3.5% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares traded down 3.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $59.09 and last traded at $60.0710. 4,120,547 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 7,970,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 4.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.65 and a 200 day moving average of $63.46. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.98 and a beta of 1.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.