MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) rose 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.00 and last traded at $58.5450. Approximately 3,133,545 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 9,085,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MP. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.60 and a 200 day moving average of $64.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.91 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after buying an additional 100,915 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at $1,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.