Insider Selling: MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO Sells $1,753,874.00 in Stock

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky sold 27,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $1,753,874.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,078,565 shares in the company, valued at $837,158,945.65. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP opened at $69.15 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.54. The firm has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of -97.39 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $18.64 and a 1-year high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MP shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 168.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 181.3% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.