MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.5% After Analyst Downgrade

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was down 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $58.32 and last traded at $59.28. Approximately 7,487,636 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 6,676,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.17.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. The trade was a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in MP Materials by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in MP Materials by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,348 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Down 0.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.82. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of -174.12 and a beta of 1.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The business had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.