MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) dropped 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $54.07 and last traded at $55.46. 3,787,251 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 6,857,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.52 and a 200 day moving average of $59.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.05 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.