MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price dropped 2.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $54.28 and last traded at $54.88. Approximately 4,166,163 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 6,636,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MP. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research cut MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -157.82 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 9.51.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in MP Materials by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently 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.