MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 10.3% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were up 10.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $54.64 and last traded at $54.5940. Approximately 6,764,989 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 7,347,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.99 and a beta of 1.67. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.60.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $52.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.06 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.MP Materials’s revenue was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its stake in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.