MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price was down 5.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $57.50 and last traded at $58.75. Approximately 10,364,364 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 10,795,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.16.

MP Materials News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northlake, Texas approved tax incentives to attract a planned $1 billion rare-earth magnet plant tied to MP’s supply chain expansion — this supports long‑term domestic magnet manufacturing and downstream demand for MP’s materials. Tax breaks OK’d to lure $1 billion rare earth magnet plant to Northlake
• Neutral Sentiment: MP set its Q4 2025 earnings release and webcast for Feb. 26; investors will get updated guidance and details then — a potential near‑term catalyst. MP Materials Announces Date for Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results and Webcast
• Neutral Sentiment: MP publicly disputed reports about broader government price protections, calling them misleading — this could limit further reputation-driven selling if the company clarifies existing contracts. MP Materials (MP) Stock Drops as Company Slams “Misleading” Price Protection Report
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that the Biden/Trump administration (sources cited) is backing away from setting critical‑mineral price floors rattled markets — investors fear less federal price support for rare‑earth producers, a key demand driver for MP. Trump administration backs away from setting critical mineral price floors, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage tying the price-floor headlines to MP’s recent government price guarantees (and DoD ties) pushed selling pressure and volume as traders priced in reduced policy support. Why MP Materials Stock Just Crashed
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines and commentary flagged the same risk and noted the stock decline, amplifying the move as momentum players and funds adjusted exposure. MP material stock sinks on Trump rare earth price-floor comment. What to do now.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MP. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.5%

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 company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.75 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.95.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 113,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 23,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 51,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 7,120 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 13,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.