MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky Sells 177,188 Shares of Stock

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky sold 177,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $11,540,254.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,205,965 shares in the company, valued at $794,974,500.45. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

MP Materials Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $60.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.81 and its 200-day moving average is $59.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of -143.86 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting MP Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MP Materials to $70 from $62 and reiterated an Overweight rating, reflecting higher expectations for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank increased its price target on MP Materials to $70 from $65 and kept a Buy rating after the company’s Q1 results, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MP Materials reported Q1 earnings of $0.03 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 49.1% year over year to $90.65 million, supporting the stock’s recent strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted record production and growth in rare earth output and magnet production, reinforcing the long-term growth story. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in MP Materials by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after acquiring an additional 51,348 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is 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.