MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.92 and last traded at $68.43. 10,456,198 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 10,215,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 5.8%

The company has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.38 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 168.7% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in MP Materials by 181.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is 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.