MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $60.91 and last traded at $58.27. Approximately 4,707,464 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 6,948,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush increased their price target on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.74 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS 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 business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares in the company, valued at $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,251,167 shares of company stock valued at $82,131,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,702,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,227,000. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,617,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its position in MP Materials by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 54,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MP Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,505,000. 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.