MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 5% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares dropped 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $57.74 and last traded at $58.50. Approximately 5,942,464 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 8,333,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.50 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.90.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% 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 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. WMS Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $557,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 26,018.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 9,627 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 59,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 30,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 12,897 shares during the period. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.