MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 4% Higher – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) rose 4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $69.46 and last traded at $67.02. Approximately 8,522,939 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 7,090,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MP shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wedbush upped their price target on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.08.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The company has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -159.57 and a beta of 1.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. MP Materials’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth $9,702,000. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter worth $1,089,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,227,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter worth $10,915,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 84.1% in the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after purchasing an additional 54,031 shares in 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.