MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 1.7% Higher – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price shot up 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $70.46 and last traded at $69.56. 7,751,184 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 10,056,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MP shares. Bank of America upped their target price on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.97 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter worth $34,000. Financial Consulate Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 500.0% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.