MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.61.

MP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.4%

NYSE MP opened at $19.53 on Friday. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $29.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.10 and a beta of 2.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The firm had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,799,924. This trade represents a 6.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in MP Materials by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.