MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.91 and last traded at $58.27. 4,707,464 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 6,948,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Up 6.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.66. The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -144.82 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,702,000. Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,227,000. South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,617,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its holdings in MP Materials by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,931,000 after buying an additional 54,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,505,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.