Legato Capital Management LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Legato Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 36.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,395 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MP. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 181.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 4,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in MP Materials by 500.0% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’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 value of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276 over the last ninety days. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. William Blair began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $61.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.92. MP Materials Corp. has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $100.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of -117.92 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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.