MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.34 and last traded at $60.2540. 5,225,576 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 6,670,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -173.33 and a beta of 1.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The business had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in MP Materials by 26.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after acquiring an additional 49,052 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter worth about $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% in the first 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 period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.