MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 7.1% Following Insider Buying Activity

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price rose 7.1% during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $57.33 and last traded at $57.2560. Approximately 4,689,491 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 6,994,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.45.

Specifically, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.32 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.11 and a 200-day moving average of $59.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.