MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 2.2% – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $63.07 and last traded at $61.6560. Approximately 5,476,434 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 8,148,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.96 and a 200 day moving average of $63.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.57 and a beta of 1.55.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% in the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,888,000 after acquiring an additional 100,915 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth $1,089,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.