MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 12.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were up 12.8% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $59.82 and last traded at $58.5870. Approximately 23,197,820 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 114% from the average daily volume of 10,860,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.95.

The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The company had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MP Materials from $18.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 29th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at $92,503,136.18. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $687,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,479,000. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Up 12.8%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 3.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.00 and a beta of 2.26.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.