MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3% – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was down 3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $52.98 and last traded at $53.9450. 5,535,147 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 6,846,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MP shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.44 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.59.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer 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. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares in the company, valued at $800,756,938.95. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654 over the last 90 days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.