MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky Sells 50,000 Shares

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky sold 50,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $3,229,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,429,219.70. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.4%

NYSE:MP traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.57. The company had a trading volume of 5,062,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,944,660. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -153.75 and a beta of 1.90. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.52. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays initiated coverage on MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.08.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.7% in 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 last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.