MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) fell 2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $54.21 and last traded at $54.2590. Approximately 3,814,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 6,562,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MP. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 9.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.56. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -159.58 and a beta of 1.94.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 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.