MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 6,805,866 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 73% from the previous session’s volume of 3,937,837 shares.The stock last traded at $25.45 and had previously closed at $24.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.61.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of -43.51 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.19. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The business’s revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth $687,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 314.6% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 429.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $4,953,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.