MP Materials Corp. $MP Position Increased by Krane Funds Advisors LLC

Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,748 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,067 shares during the period. MP Materials accounts for approximately 0.1% of Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $3,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in MP Materials by 26.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after buying an additional 49,052 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,348 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,176,275. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,251,167 shares of company stock worth $82,131,654 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP opened at $59.20 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.96 and a beta of 1.86. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $23.26 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The company had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials 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.