MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 8.2% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price was up 8.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.45 and last traded at $47.4480. Approximately 10,010,222 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 6,607,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MP. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wedbush raised their price target on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Up 8.2%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.97 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18.

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

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $15,456,461.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at $780,952,414.55. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837 over the last three months. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 79,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,922 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1,679.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 39,225 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $493,000. WMS Group LLC grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. WMS Group LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, BankChampaign National Association grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. BankChampaign National Association now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.