MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price fell 4.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.91 and last traded at $41.2840. 7,007,622 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 6,555,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.13.

Key Stories Impacting MP Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan maintained an “overweight” rating on MP Materials and set a $60 price target, implying substantial upside from the referenced $41.66 price. The rating suggests the firm still sees long-term value in the rare-earths producer despite near-term concerns. Benzinga analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect MP Materials’ earnings to improve in the upcoming report, but Zacks says the company lacks the combination of factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. That could limit enthusiasm ahead of results, even if year-over-year earnings growth is expected. Yahoo Finance earnings expectations article Zacks earnings expectations article
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha analysis downgraded MP Materials and advised investors to wait for a better entry point, reflecting concerns about valuation, execution, or the stock’s recent volatility. Seeking Alpha MP Materials downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Although JPMorgan remains bullish, it reduced its price target from $75 to $60. The cut signals a more cautious near-term outlook and may weigh on sentiment despite the remaining implied upside. Benzinga JPMorgan price target update

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MP shares. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.35.

MP Materials Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -99.18 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.46.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. Analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $15,456,461.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at $780,952,414.55. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 905,167 shares of company stock worth $60,161,837 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,184,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $2,451,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $449,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,569,000. Finally, Gunderson Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,168,000. 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.