MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 8.2% – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price rose 8.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.90 and last traded at $63.70. Approximately 10,187,988 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 8,547,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.15 and its 200-day moving average is $64.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.50 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 6.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth about $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,089,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.