MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 6.7% – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price was up 6.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $58.80 and last traded at $58.6330. Approximately 6,917,075 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 6,684,581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -82.58 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 691,557 shares of company stock valued at $43,538,586. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in MP Materials by 168.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 181.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently 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.