MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.9091.

MP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP opened at $66.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.35 and a beta of 1.62. MP Materials has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,020,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $940,360,000 after buying an additional 363,975 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in MP Materials by 14.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,928,000 after buying an additional 378,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. 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.