MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 154,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $7,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $137,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in MP Materials by 45.0% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 109,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in MP Materials by 7.2% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 26,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in MP Materials by 26.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 763,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,087,000 after buying an additional 157,272 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting MP Materials

Here are a few of the latest headlines about MP:

• Positive Sentiment: Executives and a director disclosed more than $3.35 million in combined stock purchases, including the COO’s additional 5,000-share purchase. Insider buying may signal confidence in the company, following its start of saleable magnet shipments to General Motors. MP Materials insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Call-option trading was unusually active, with volume about 64% above its typical level, suggesting increased speculative interest in potential gains.
• Neutral Sentiment: The key question is whether the sharp revenue growth can be sustained; it depends in part on rare-earth prices and continued sales growth. Can Q3 growth be sustained?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MP traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.70. The stock had a trading volume of 7,891,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,989,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 6.04 and a current ratio of 6.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.71. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $31.90 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of -175.92 and a beta of 2.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $147.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.37 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 0.05% and a negative net margin of 9.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. Research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, Director Randall Weisenburger acquired 55,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,980,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 205,899 shares in the company, valued at $7,412,364. This trade represents a 36.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Rosenthal bought 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.61 per share, with a total value of $988,470.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,360,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,814,238.53. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 92,476 shares of company stock worth $3,353,475 over the last three months. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems. The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.