MP Materials’ (MP) Buy Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson restated their buy rating on shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the stock.

MP has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MP stock opened at $59.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -174.35 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. MP Materials has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.1% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 4,612 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in MP Materials by 32.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 509,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,562,000 after purchasing an additional 124,945 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $672,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in MP Materials by 5,523.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,225,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,731,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 155.1% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 7,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.