MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 2.3% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 2.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $57.01 and last traded at $58.93. 5,611,390 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 6,871,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays began coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.63. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.00 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.