MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 2.8% – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares dropped 2.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $51.62 and last traded at $51.8590. Approximately 4,678,498 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 10,455,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of -71.15 and a beta of 1.70.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The company had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 691,557 shares of company stock worth $43,538,586. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

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

About MP Materials

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.