MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MP. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wedbush raised their price objective on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.42.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $43.18 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.06 and a 200-day moving average of $58.78. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $100.25. 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 company has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of -102.82 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $15,456,461.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at $780,952,414.55. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC boosted 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 worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.