Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 411,771 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,122,224 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 411,771 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $61,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 25.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,380,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,574,000 after buying an additional 2,697,925 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,960,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,756,000 after acquiring an additional 614,088 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 51.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,435,000 after purchasing an additional 401,071 shares during the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3,092.1% in the third quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 391,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,484,000 after purchasing an additional 379,560 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 2,911.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 320,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 309,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $26.00 to $15.50 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.64.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.87. 925,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,507,584. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 126.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 2.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.38. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.68 and a 12 month high of $26.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 9.54 and a current ratio of 10.42.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). MP Materials had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 9.59%. The business had revenue of $41.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.40 million. Equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.