MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price was down 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $64.08 and last traded at $65.2260. Approximately 5,021,694 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 7,070,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.08.

MP Materials Trading Down 3.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -152.85 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 company posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.7% during the third 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. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.