MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Upgraded at Needham & Company LLC

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush increased their target price on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP opened at $68.72 on Monday. MP Materials has a 12-month low of $22.04 and a 12-month high of $100.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.43 and its 200 day moving average is $59.71. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -163.61 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $3,229,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,429,219.70. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,066,000 shares of company stock valued at $69,329,207. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 102.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 8,557 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 138.7% during the 1st quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 22,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 13,109 shares during the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $477,000. Finally, Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $1,034,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.