MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price was down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $52.97 and last traded at $53.2720. Approximately 4,637,561 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 6,746,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of -126.84 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,505,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 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.