MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

MP Materials (NYSE:MP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $82.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MP. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Trading Down 7.3%

Shares of MP traded down $4.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.66. 3,176,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,967,793. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $23.26 and a twelve month high of $100.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of -144.75 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.76. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,066,000 shares of company stock worth $69,329,207. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,702,000. Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,227,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after buying an additional 54,031 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,617,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.