MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Securities

TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MP. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.86. The stock had a trading volume of 627,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,978,346. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $18.64 and a 1-year high of $100.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.51 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.89 and its 200-day moving average is $64.99.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202. 12.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.