MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.9091.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 691,557 shares of company stock worth $43,538,586. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 420.0% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 500.0% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 106.2% during the third quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Up 8.9%

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -77.48 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.04. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $16.51 and a 52-week high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. MP Materials’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS 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.