MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.50 and last traded at $57.0080. 3,663,068 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 6,916,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MP shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 0.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.83 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.66. The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.