Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for MP Materials (NYSE:MP)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $30.00 price target on the stock.

MP has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $15.50 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, July 15th. They set a market perform rating and a $16.50 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $20.50.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of MP Materials stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.52. 6,829,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,326,743. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.27. The company has a quick ratio of 9.28, a current ratio of 10.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.47 and a beta of 2.22. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $23.39.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.08). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.13% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, Director Andrew A. Mcknight sold 317,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $5,741,742.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,554,020. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 50,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total value of $846,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 325,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,605.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew A. Mcknight sold 317,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $5,741,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,554,020. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 178,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after purchasing an additional 31,355 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in MP Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 84,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 27,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,960,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,756,000 after buying an additional 614,088 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.