MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

DA Davidson restated their buy rating on shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the stock.

MP has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $69.00 price target on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.82.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of MP Materials stock traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.98. 4,992,271 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,900,596. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.17 and a beta of 2.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05. MP Materials has a 52 week low of $15.56 and a 52 week high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 248,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $15,863,526.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,369,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,786,806.90. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,503,136.18. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 418,411 shares of company stock worth $27,820,926. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MP Materials by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,020,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $940,360,000 after buying an additional 363,975 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in MP Materials by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,928,000 after acquiring an additional 378,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.