MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 5.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) rose 5.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.09 and last traded at $53.3260. Approximately 6,448,375 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 7,709,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in 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 company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Securities raised MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Up 5.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.87. 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 company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.55 and a beta of 1.55.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The business had revenue of $52.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 346,000 shares of company stock valued at $22,006,616 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 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.