JT Stratford LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

JT Stratford LLC reduced its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,087 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $4,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 100,915 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $1,089,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MP opened at $61.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.90. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $18.64 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.40 and a beta of 1.55.

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.