Monetta Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Monetta Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in MP Materials by 181.3% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $55.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.59 and a beta of 1.60. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $18.64 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.54. 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 at MP Materials

In related news, 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 transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276 in the last quarter. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. William Blair started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

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.