MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $54.59 and last traded at $56.82. 5,131,050 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 9,470,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.63 and a 200-day moving average of $64.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.46 and a beta of 1.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were 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 $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring 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. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.