MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 3.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) dropped 3.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $54.51 and last traded at $54.8690. Approximately 5,062,911 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 7,034,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.67.

Key Headlines Impacting MP Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rare-earth stocks are rebounding after recent trade-related selloff, as investors focus on the fact that China export restrictions still appear to be a meaningful issue for the market. That backdrop is supporting MP Materials alongside other rare-earth names. Rare Earth Stocks Rally On Funding News, Fading China Fears
• Positive Sentiment: MP Materials COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares at $56.62, signaling insider confidence in the company’s outlook and giving traders a bullish sentiment boost. Michael Stuart Rosenthal Purchases 17,000 Shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to see upside, with DA Davidson reaffirming a Buy rating and setting an $82 price target, reinforcing the view that MP still has room to run if rare-earth fundamentals stay firm.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results showed strong revenue growth, but MP also extended its operating-loss streak to 11 quarters, reminding investors that profitability remains a key concern despite improving sales. MP’s Operating Losses Continue in Q1: Can It Revert to Profitability?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MP. Barclays began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.08.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -146.99 and a beta of 1.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 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.