MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $63.30 and last traded at $62.83. 5,201,634 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 10,322,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.80 and a 200 day moving average of $64.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after acquiring an additional 100,915 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter worth about $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.