MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 5.2% After Insider Selling

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) were down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $58.98 and last traded at $60.4220. Approximately 9,736,799 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 7,051,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.73.

Specifically, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 177,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $11,540,254.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,205,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,974,500.45. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 122,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.90, for a total transaction of $8,093,310.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,383,153 shares in the company, valued at $816,049,782.70. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

MP Materials News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on MP Materials after its Q1 results: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $70 from $62 and kept an Overweight rating, while Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $70 from $65 and reiterated a Buy rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MP Materials continues to benefit from strong fundamental execution, including a Q1 earnings beat and 49.1% year-over-year revenue growth, which supports the stock’s longer-term rare-earth growth story. Article Title

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.81 and its 200-day moving average is $59.37. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of -146.07 and a beta of 1.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.