MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 9.6% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 9.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $58.65 and last traded at $59.2020. 7,946,600 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 7,014,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.96 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.67 and a 200-day moving average of $59.76.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $3,229,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,429,219.70. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,066,000 shares of company stock valued at $69,329,207 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is 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.