MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 2.8% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were up 2.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.48 and last traded at $58.5880. Approximately 12,044,129 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 10,862,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MP. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.52 and a beta of 2.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,503,136.18. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 4.7% during the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.