MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) traded up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $58.51 and last traded at $58.0010. 4,552,884 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 9,614,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.69 and a beta of 1.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd boosted its stake in MP Materials by 7.2% in the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MP Materials by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,519,000 after purchasing an additional 459,213 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in MP Materials by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,597,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,325,000 after purchasing an additional 769,517 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in MP Materials during the second quarter valued at $132,238,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in MP Materials by 14.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,928,000 after buying an additional 378,510 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.